Every once in a while, ‘The Simpsons’ likes to sneak in some clever weed humor for its fans.
Anniversary dates of pop culture events tend to give its creators an opportunity to spill secrets on their work. Sometimes that includes on-set drama or lucky breaks creators had along the way. Other times, it’s neat Easter eggs that unfortunately got left on the cutting room floor.
“Simpsons” writer Josh Weinstein shared a joke that falls into the latter category for the cartoon’s iconic “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” two-part episode. He posted on Twitter a page from the episode’s script that revealed “Simpsons” TV broadcaster Kent Brockman was secretly a marijuana user. Police officers investigate for clues while Brockman reports live from the scene, in the scene Weinstein shared.
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During the telecast, sniffer dogs converge upon Brockman, hinting he may have illicit substances on his person. “Brockman takes out a baggie of medicinal herbs and quickly crams it in his mouth,” reads the script. With his mouth full, he asks Wiggum, “Anything else, Chief?”
On the 24th anniversary of "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)" – and an era in which marijuana's legal in many places – here's a Kent Brockman scene that got cut after the October '96 table read, implying he clearly likes to smoke it. pic.twitter.com/46X9eH63AL
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) September 17, 2019
Weinstein revealed in comments to his post that he assumes the joke “got cut for time ’cause this episode was really jammed with stuff and this was just a side joke.” When one user commented that Kent Brockman always “came across as a coke guy,” Weinstein agreed.
This isn’t the first time “The Simpsons” has included some clever marijuana humor into its writing. In the 2005 episode “Midnight Rx,” the show accurately predicted Canada legalizing cannabis ahead of the United States. There was also the 2002 “Weekend at Burnsies” episode, which follows Homer getting a medical marijuana prescription and includes the most pot jokes possible in any “Simpsons” episode.
