Michael Jackson used The Simpsons cameo to 'groom boys', showrunner claims

'I think it was part of what [Jackson] used to groom boys,' says Jean

A former Simpsons showrunner believes Michael Jackson used his cameo on the show to groom boys.

Al Jean worked on The Simpsons in the early nineties, acting as a showrunner with his colleague Mike Reiss during seasons three and four.

Jackson’s episode, titled Stark Raving Dad, dates back to September 1991 and was co-written by Jean and Reiss.

The instalment, in which Jackson voices a character named Leon Kompowsky, was pulled from circulation last week in the wake of the Leaving Neverland documentary. Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the two subjects of the film, both share detailed accusations of child sexual abuse against Jackson throughout the movie.

Jean told The Daily Beast he believes the decision to remove the episode is “appropriate”, and that he now believes the episode itself served a “false purpose”.

“I think it was part of what he used to groom boys,” Jean said of Jackson.

“I really don’t know, and I should be very careful because this is not something I know personally, but as far as what I think, that’s what I think. And that makes me very, very sad.”

Jean explained that after watching Leaving Neverland, he became convinced that pulling the episode was the right thing to do.

”It wasn’t something that makes me happy. It’s something I agree with completely,” Jean said of the removal.

“What saddens me is, if you watch that documentary—which I did, and several of us here did—and you watch that episode, honestly, it looks like the episode was used by Michael Jackson for something other than what we’d intended it.

“It wasn’t just a comedy to him, it was something that was used as a tool. And I strongly believe that.”

Leaving Neverland premiered on 3 and 4 March in the US and on 6 and 7 March in the UK. It has now been slated for broadcasts around the world.