'The Simpsons' Writer Defends Lenny and Carl Gay Joke

The writer behind a recent gay joke cracked at the expense of two recurring characters on "The Simpsons" is explaining its significance for LGBTQ representation.

In the show, characters Lenny and Carl are judged on their outfits by fashion designer Michael De Graaf, the new hot boyfriend of character Waylon Smithers.

De Graaf mistakes the two friends as boyfriends after Lenny asks him what he thinks about his "top," meaning his shirt. Instead, De Graaf responds by looking Carl up and down and saying, "very nice."

"Simpsons" writer Johnny LaZebnik recently opened up about the moment to Attitude magazine and explained why he fights to get gay jokes in the series that the entire audience of the show might not understand, Digital Spy reported.

"I'm a huge Lenny and Carl fan... We worked on that scene a bunch of times, and I was like, 'How can we get this joke to stay in?!' said LaZebnik. "There are a lot of jokes for gay people that I had a hand in getting in there."

Despite LaZebnik being one of the only driving forces behind making the show more LGBTQ+-friendly, he says his father, also a writer on the "The Simpsons," was one of the first people to cast doubt about how the joke would land.

"I was like [raises voice]: 'We've got a Chernobyl parody!" said LaZebnik. "We're doing this!'"

And we are all happy you did.