Waylon Smithers Jr. of "The Simpsons," is finally coming out as gay after years of hiding his real sexuality, which became an open secret in the entire show that began airing in 1989 and is considered as the longest running prime-time sitcom in the U.S.
Smithers will come out to his tyrannical boss 'Mr. Burns' in two episodes of this year's season that will begin on Sunday.
"In Springfield now, most people know he's gay, but obviously Burns doesn't," producer Al Jean said according to TVLine. "We deal with that in two episodes. We actually do a lot with Smithers this year. He gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options."
The infatuation of Smithers with his billionaire boss was teased many times in various episodes of the iconic show. His coming out is in line with the society's tolerance of gays, lesbians and transgender people, which is one of the changes seen in the movies and televisions industry.
In an episode set of a “do what you feel festival,” The Guardian noted that Smithers told Mr. Burns: “Sir, in the spirit of the festival and everything, I’d just like to say that I … love you,” quickly adding: “In those colors!” After saying those words, he whispered to himself: “Oh, who am I kidding? The boathouse was the time!”
Mr. Burns is the richest citizen in Springfield who is also the owner of a nuclear plant. Smithers is his personal assistant and considers himself as the best friend of Mr. Burns.
"The idea of a show that has an openly gay character has ceased to be remarkable," said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, Yahoo! News reported. "Before the 1970s, we had virtually no gays or lesbians or transgender people on television at all. They were virtually invisible. And I guess the Smithers story is one more character that demonstrates that is not the case anymore."
He also added that Smithers' coming out reinforces acceptance of the LGBT community.
