In a move that’s shocking to absolutely no one, Waylon Smithers is about to come out of the closet.

 
 
It’s no shock to The Simpsons fans that Mr Burns trusted assistant, Waylon Smithers, is a gay man. Over the years his sexuality was merely alluded to – his secret crush on his boss has been the punchline to many gags in early episodes, and later on we see him hanging out with Springfield’s gay mafia and seemingly living openly, frequenting Springfield’s gay bars.
Well, Smithers has never actually come out of the closet and admitted his feelings to his boss, Mr Burns.

Executive producer, Al Jean, says that the next season will explore Smithers’ unrequited love in a big way.

“In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay, but obviously Burns doesn’t,” Jean told 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.”

Both Smithers and Mr Burns are voiced by Harry Shearer, who was on the verge of leaving the show earlier this year. After talks with producers, Shearer decided to stay on the team and signed a new contract.