'The Simpsons' makes a change that surprises its fans: Homer will no longer strangle Bart

The couch gag, Bart's recurring phrases on the school blackboard, Homer's well-known "D'oh " and the father of the family choking the eldest of the Simpson family's children. Those are some of the memories that come to mind when we think about "The Simpsons," the well-known FOX television series located in the town of Springfield. Until now.

The third episode of the 35th season of "The Simpsons" brings a change that has surprised their fans. Homer will not choke Bart again. It was a recurring gag that had not appeared since season 31 and now, it has been announced, so it will not appear again in the well-known and long-running animated fiction. It happens during the episode titled "McMansion & Wife," in which Homer and Marge meet their new neighbors and Homer shakes his new neighbor's hand.

Faced with this small gesture, the new character reacts with surprise at the strength of the grip of the Simpsons patriarch who, immediately afterwards, says to his wife: "See Marge? Strangling the boy paid off." The surprised look of the rest of the characters gathered in the following scene leads Homer to assure that, despite being a frequent act, it would no longer be seen in the show: "Just kidding, I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed":

'The Simpsons' sparks controversy with the withdrawal of the gag

Like everything that surrounds 'the yellow family,' the withdrawal of this gag was full of controversy. Many people had been calling for the withdrawal of this action for a long time. In fact, the long-running series even made an episode (the seventeenth episode of the twenty-second season) in which, remember Meristation As, NBA star Kareem Abdul Jabbar strangled Homer so that he understood what Bart felt every time his father carried out this attack.

The action achieved the desired result and Homer found himself unable to strangle Bart again. Although it didn't last long. Eight episodes later, fans returned to see Homer strangle Bart. And he continued to do so until season 31 where, some fans of the well-known fiction claim, Homer was never seen strangling his son again. Something that many fans of the series supported:

However, there are also fans who do not agree that "The Simpsons" should get rid of one of the characteristic scenes of the well-known show. Several Internet users went to X (formerly Twitter) to express their discontent at not being able to see Homer strangling Bart again :

*Update:

Speaking to People magazine, Simpsons producer James L. Brooks denied that Homer was going to stop strangling his son Bart. "Nothing is being tamed. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing," Brooks continues. "He'll still be strangled-[if] you want to use that horrible term for it. He will continue to be loved by his father in a specific way," Brooks assured the magazine.