{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 6 | episode = 9 | director = [[Jeffrey Lynch]] | writer = [[Greg Daniels]] | production = 2F06 | airdate = {{Start date|1994|11|27}} | guests = * [[Dennis Franz]] as himself portraying Homer | blackboard = "I will not whittle hall passes out of soap"<ref name="book">{{cite book|last=Groening|first=Matt|author-link=Matt Groening|editor1-first=Ray|editor1-last=Richmond|editor1-link=Ray Richmond|editor2-first=Antonia|editor2-last=Coffman |title=[[The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family|The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family]]|edition=1st|year=1997|location=New York|publisher=[[HarperPerennial]]|lccn=98141857|ol=433519M|oclc=37796735|isbn=978-0-06-095252-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/simpsonscomplete00groe/page/158 158–159]|ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}}}}.</ref> | couch_gag = The family chases the couch and back wall down a long and portal-type hallway.<ref name="bbc"/> | commentary = [[Matt Groening]]<br/>David Mirkin<br/>Greg Daniels<br/>[[Julie Kavner]]<br/>Jeffrey Lynch<br/>[[David Silverman (animator)|David Silverman]] | prev = [[Lisa on Ice]] | next = [[Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy]] }} "'''Homer Badman'''" is the ninth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 6|sixth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on November 27, 1994. In the episode, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] is falsely accused of [[sexual harassment]] and must clear his name. [[Dennis Franz]] guest stars as himself portraying a fictionalized and exaggerated version of Homer in a [[television film]] called ''Homer S: Portrait of an Ass-Grabber''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/0609.htm|title=Homer Badman|work=The Simpsons.com|access-date=March 1, 2007}}</ref>
The episode was written by [[Greg Daniels]] and directed by [[Jeffrey Lynch]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season6/page9.shtml|title=Homer Badman|access-date=2007-08-13|last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2 = Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer)|year=2000|publisher=BBC|url-status=dead|archive-date=2005-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050126091817/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season6/page9.shtml}}</ref>
==Plot== [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] gets tickets for a candy convention and decides to take [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] with him as she hires [[feminist]] graduate student Ashley Grant to [[Babysitting|babysit]] their children. Homer outfits Marge with an oversized [[trench coat]] in order to smuggle out as much candy as possible. At the candy convention, Homer attempts to steal a rare [[Gummi candy|gummy]] modeled after the ''[[Venus de Milo]]''. When caught in the act, Homer creates a makeshift explosive out of [[Pop Rocks]] and a can of Buzz Cola to provide cover while he and Marge escape.
That night, Homer apparently loses the gummy Venus and frantically searches for it until Marge reminds him to drive Ashley home. As she exits Homer's car, he notices the gummy stuck to her pants. Mesmerized, Homer seizes the confection and Ashley turns around to see him drooling at it. Misinterpreting this as a sexual advance, a horrified Ashley runs off.
The next morning, an angry mob of college students led by Ashley marches onto the Simpsons' lawn, falsely accusing Homer of sexual harassment. Homer attempts to explain that he did not mean to, but the students do not believe him. The tabloid news show ''Rock Bottom'' airs an interview with Homer that is selectively, albeit poorly edited and presented out of context to make him look like a crazed [[pervert]], further tarnishing his reputation. The resulting [[media circus]] monitors Homer's movements around the clock.
[[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] and Marge suggest that Homer videotape his side of the story for a [[Public-access television|public-access]] [[cable television]] channel, but since it airs during a [[Graveyard slot|graveyard timeslot]], few viewers see it and it only succeeds in angering a [[penny-farthing]] enthusiast. [[Groundskeeper Willie]], who enjoys shooting and watching amateur videos, sees Homer's tape and showcases videotaped evidence of what actually happened the night Homer drove Ashley home. After watching it, she apologizes for causing the media circus and Homer is exonerated. ''Rock Bottom'' then makes Willie's videotaping exploits the target of the next media circus. Having learned nothing from his experience, Homer lambasts Willie, much to Marge's annoyance.
==Production== [[Greg Daniels]], the writer of the episode, originally pitched this episode as being more centered on Lisa's and Homer's opposing ideas on feminism. Eventually, the episode became more of a [[satire]] of [[Tabloid television|tabloid media]], such as ''[[Hard Copy]]''.<ref name="Daniels">{{cite video|people=Daniels, Greg|date=2005|title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Badman"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> [[David Mirkin]], the series' showrunner at the time, felt very strongly about the "tabloidization of the media" and has said that the episode was as current in 2005 as it was when it first aired and things have since gotten worse.<ref name="Mirkin">{{cite video|people=Mirkin, David|date=2005|title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Badman"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Several gags in the episode are based on what real life shows like ''Hard Copy'' would do, such as making people look to be guilty without a trial as well as creating a complete invasion of privacy by setting up camp outside people's homes.<ref name="Mirkin"/> The talk show "Ben", which is hosted by a bear named "[[Gentle Ben]]" wearing a microphone on its head, reflects the writers' feeling that anyone could host a talk show because all they need is a microphone and an audience.<ref name="Mirkin"/>
[[Dennis Franz]] was the writers' second choice for the actor who portrays Homer in the television dramatization.<ref name="Mirkin"/> According to the DVD commentary, the original actor was more "barrel-chested".<ref name="Lynch">{{cite video|people=Lynch, Jeffrey|date=2005|title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Badman"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
==Cultural references== At the candy convention, a voice over an intercom says that the front desk is "[[Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film)|Looking for Mr. Goodbar]]" and the escape scene was "based on every [[Bruce Willis]] movie ever made".<ref name="Mirkin"/> [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] asks Homer if "the dog in the [[Coppertone (sunscreen)|Coppertone]] commercial" received sexual harassment. Homer's fantasy of living underwater is a parody of the "[[Under the Sea]]" sequence from [[Disney]]'s ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]''.<ref name="Mirkin"/> The episode additionally includes parodies of ''[[Hard Copy]]'', [[Sally Jessy Raphael]], the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'', ''[[Gentle Ben]]'' and media coverage of the [[O. J. Simpson]] standoff.<ref name="Mirkin"/> At the end of the episode, the ''Rock Bottom'' announcer refers to Groundskeeper Willie as "Rowdy Roddy Peeper", a reference to professional wrestler [[Rowdy Roddy Piper]]. Like Willie, Piper's gimmick was that of a stereotypical Scot.{{fact|date=May 2025}}
==Reception== In its original broadcast, "Homer Badman" finished 50th in ratings for the week of November 21–27, 1994, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 9.5, equivalent to approximately 9.1 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, beating ''[[Married... with Children]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title='Rockford' sweeps CBS to victory|work=Sun-Sentinel|page=4E|date=December 1, 1994}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, "Homer Badman" is the earliest episode of ''The Simpsons'' to receive a [[British Board of Film Classification#Current certificates|12]] certificate for home release by the [[British Board of Film Classification]]; previous episodes remain certificated at U or PG.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Simpsons (1995) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-simpsons-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ymjgwmdu |website=BBFC |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref>
According to David Mirkin, the episode is very highly ranked among ''Simpsons'' fans.<ref name="Mirkin"/>
In ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'}}s top 25 ''The Simpsons'' episodes list, compiled in 2003, "Homer Badman" was placed eighteenth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/02/02/best-simpsons-episodes-nos-16-20/|title=The best ''Simpsons'' episodes, Nos. 16-20|access-date=2007-02-10|date=2003-01-29|publisher=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' characterized the episode as one of "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes".<ref>{{cite news|last=Walton|first=James|title=The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes (In Chronological Order)|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|pages=Page 3|date=July 21, 2007|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8791597/The-10-best-Simpsons-TV-episodes.html}}</ref>
In 2003, during the first meeting between [[Ricky Gervais]], co-creator and star of ''[[The Office (British TV series)|The Office]]'', and episode writer [[Greg Daniels]], Gervais revealed that this was his favorite episode of ''The Simpsons''. Daniels would go on to adapt ''[[The Office (American TV series)|The Office]]'' for American television.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/16/856785024/greg-daniels-moves-his-comedic-spotlight-to-absurdity-in-the-afterlife|title=Greg Daniels Moves His Comedic Spotlight to Absurdity in The Afterlife|access-date=2020-05-16|date=2020-05-16|publisher=National Public Radio}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_6#Homer:_Bad_Man|"Homer Badman"}} {{portal|The Simpsons}} *{{snpp capsule|2F06}} *{{IMDb episode|0701109}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|6}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 6 episodes]] [[Category:1994 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes about sexual harassment]] [[Category:Television episodes written by Greg Daniels]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Jeffrey Lynch]]