Homer's Phobia

According to Bill Oakley, the Fox censor objected to the episode being aired. The normal procedure is for an episode's script to be sent to the censor and then faxed back with a list of lines and words that should be substituted. However, this episode came back with two pages of notes about almost every single line in the show. The censors stated that they did not like the use of the word "gay", or the discussion of homosexuality at all, and closed with a paragraph that stated that "the topic and substance of this episode are unacceptable for broadcast". Usually the censor notes are ignored as the offending lines and problems are dealt with after the episode has been animated. In this case, the entire episode was deemed a problem, so it could not be solved in this way. The staff asked John Waters if he thought the gay community would find the episode offensive. Homer's use of the word "fag" to insult John was his only problem, so the writers changed it to "queer".[9] The censor problems ultimately came to nothing as when the episode came back from animation in South Korea, the then-Fox president had just been fired and replaced, with the censors being replaced as well. The new censors sent back merely one line: "acceptable for broadcast".

John is shown wearing Homer's old bowling shirt from the episode "Team Homer." At the end of that episode, that shirt was torn to shreds by one of Burns's hounds.

The words "Dedicated to the steelworkers of America - keep reaching for that rainbow!" appear in all-capital letters onscreen as John drives off in the final scene.

Featured in Simpsonit: Behind the Laughter (2000)