Back in 1991, The Simpsons aired an episode featuring a guy named Leon Kompowsky, a mental patient who pretends to be Michael Jackson.
You remember the one – Homer is sent to a mental institution after being mistaken for a “free-thinking anarchist” because he wore a pink shirt to work. There he meets a large white man who says he’s the King of Pop. He comes to stay with the Simpsons and ends up helping Bart write the most annoyingly catchy song the show has ever produced.
For years fans have speculated that it was actually Jackson himself who voiced the character, despite not appearing in the credits (Kompowsky’s voice actor was credited to John Jay Smith). Now the show’s creator, Matt Groening, has confirmed that Jackson did indeed feature on the episode.
After 27 years of speculation, Matt Groening revealed that Michael Jackson actually did appear on that episode of The Simpsons.
“We really did have Michael Jackson,” Groening recently revealed on The Weekly while being interviewed by Briggs. “…he has a voice that sounds like someone doing a Michael Jackson bit. He did the show, he didn’t want credit for it — it was some kind of deal with his record company or whatever.”
The funny part? Jackson only did the voice – not the singing. No, that was performed by a guy named Kipp Lennon. “When it came time to do the songs, he had a sound-a-like singer and he stood there and watched the guy—and he was so nervous—who had to sound like Michael Jackson,” Groening said.
Watch the video of Briggs talking to Groening about it below.
The rumours circled every school playground in the 90s – was M.J. on #TheSimpsons? @Briggs ask the man himself, Matt Groening. #TheWeekly pic.twitter.com/8SSxqhKY7i
— The Weekly (@theweeklytv) August 29, 2018
