Waylon Smithers' Coming Out Inspired By 'The Simpsons' Writer's Son

[Warning: This article may contain spoilers for the upcoming "The Simpsons" episode "The Burns Cage."]

Waylon Smithers will come out as gay on "The Simpsons" Sunday night. And while his revelation will be shocking to no one (except his boss, Mr. Burns, perhaps), the inspiration of Smithers' coming out is a bit surprising.

The long-lasting animated show's writer Rob LaZebnik told the New York Post this week that he wrote the upcoming episode to show support to his son Johnny, 21, who is gay.

"I am a Midwestern guy, so I don't tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve, but I thought, 'What better way to tell my son I love him than to write a cartoon about it?'" LaZebnik, 53, told the newspaper.

"The revelation that my father loves me is not much of a revelation, thankfully. He's unbelievably accepting," said Johnny, a senior psychology major and film minor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. "We're as close as a straight dad and a gay son could be."

LaZebnik said he came up with the idea for Smithers coming out two or three years before he pitched it. He also gave his son an early version of the script, seeking his approval.

"I was really happy that someone who has experience with a gay person in their immediate family was writing the script," Johnny told the Post.

LaZebnik said that gay storylines are important in TV.

"Sometimes TV can have a real impact on people's thinking and I certainly hope it will have an impact on my son's dating life - not that he needs help," he said.

The upcoming episode, titled "The Burns Cage," finds Smithers coming to terms that Mr. Burns will never have romantic feelings for him. This sparks Homer Simpson to help Smithers find another love interest.

LaZebnik acknowledges that it's pretty well-known that Smithers is gay but he didn't want the reveal to be over-the-top.

We didn't really want to have that big moment of 'I'm out,' you know?" the writer told the Post. "Instead, just have it be a big embrace - like everyone knows it."

Johnny said he was "the gayest little kid" and when he told his parents he was "interested in a boy" they said "'Yeah, we know.'"

Watch two clips for the episode below.