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Now that the MJ movie is out, it's a good time to remember Disney banned this Simpsons episode forever

This is a screenshot from the 1991 *Simpsons* Season 3 premiere episode 'Stark Raving Dad', which featured an uncredited guest voice performance from Michael Jackson as Leon Kompowsky, a character who believes he is Michael Jackson. The scene shows Lisa Simpson watching Leon (wearing a black hat, playing piano, with an anchor tattoo on his arm) and Bart Simpson playing a pink bucket as a makeshift drum, as they perform the original song 'Happy Birthday Lisa' together. The meme is circulated to reference that Disney permanently banned this episode from all streaming, syndication, and home media releases in 2019 following the release of the *Leaving Neverland* documentary, and it was widely shared after the 2025 release of the official Michael Jackson biopic film.
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Overview

This is a screenshot from the 1991 Simpsons Season 3 premiere episode 'Stark Raving Dad', which featured an uncredited guest voice performance from Michael Jackson as Leon Kompowsky, a character who believes he is Michael Jackson. The scene shows Lisa Simpson watching Leon (wearing a black hat, playing piano, with an anchor tattoo on his arm) and Bart Simpson playing a pink bucket as a makeshift drum, as they perform the original song 'Happy Birthday Lisa' together. The meme is circulated to reference that Disney permanently banned this episode from all streaming, syndication, and home media releases in 2019 following the release of the Leaving Neverland documentary, and it was widely shared after the 2025 release of the official Michael Jackson biopic film.

Origin notes

This meme was originally posted on the platform 9Gag, timed to the theatrical release of the Michael Jackson biopic to remind viewers of the banned Simpsons episode featuring the pop star. Disney pulled the episode shortly after acquiring the 20th Century Fox library, in response to renewed sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson raised in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.

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