Trivia / The Simpsons S2 E2 "Simpson and Delilah"

• Actor-Inspired Element: Matt Groening had originally intended to design Karl to look like Harvey Fierstein, who objected to the idea because he felt he did not "look like gay people, how they're supposed to look." Fierstein suggested that the character be made "blond, and tall, and gorgeous, and skinny, and [given] a beautiful place to live."
• Creator's Favorite Episode: Dan Castellaneta named this as one of his three favourite episodes.
• Queer Character, Queer Actor: Harvey Fierstein plays Karl, who isn't expressly identified as gay but he does kiss Homer.
• Shrug of God: Karl is implied to be homosexual; Matt Groening says that when people began asking "was he gay?" the day after the episode aired, his response was "he's whatever you want him to be." However, Groening points out, "he does kiss Homer: He does give him a nice pat on the butt" which is "beyond [what] any other cartoon" had done at the time.

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