The character had a gay romance storyline in episode ‘Portrait Of A Lackey On Fire’
Waylon Smithers and boyfriend Michael De Graaf from The Simpsons have made the cover of Attitude magazine.
Smithers, who previously came out on the show in 2016 episode ‘Tom Collins’, had a gay romance storyline last year in episode ‘Portrait Of A Lackey On Fire’.
In the episode, Smithers falls in love with Graaf, a famous fashion designer character voiced by Victor Garber (Argo, Legally Blonde).
The fictional couple have since been celebrated in the March/April issue of Attitude, with a cover inspired by Disney classic Lady And The Tramp.
.@TheSimpsons' Waylon Smithers makes history on the cover of Attitude as Springfield's most famous gay resident introduces the world to boyfriend Michael De Graaf.
Get the new-look Attitude March/April issue now
https://t.co/Du4RBe4TgQ pic.twitter.com/FVL3pbmtXU
— Attitude Magazine (@AttitudeMag) February 17, 2022
The issue also features a “world-first interview” with Smithers about “life as a gay man in a small town”.
Asked when he first realised he was gay, Smithers said: “Well, I remember watching A StreetCar Named Desire and being unbelievably attracted to the hunk on screen who had such a powerful, raw sexual energy – Karl Malden, who plays Stanley’s friend. I’ve had a poster of him in my bedroom ever since.”
Speaking about the episode last year, co-writer Johnny LaZebnik, who was the inspiration for Smithers’ original coming-out episode, said: “So often, gay romances are a subplot or alluded to or shown in some kind of montage or as a punchline.
“And what I think I was really excited about, with this episode, we get to see – without spoiling too much – the beginning, middle and who knows how it ends of a gay relationship, of really getting into the nitty-gritty of how gay people date, how they meet, what it’s like.”
A fan of The Simpsons recently created a point-and-click adventure game based on the Steamed Hams scene, inspired by classic LucasArts adventure games like Monkey Island.
The post ‘The Simpsons’: Smithers appears on magazine cover with boyfriend appeared first on NME.
