Editing Waylon Smithers (section)

==Reception==
[[File:Harry_Shearer_at_RT4.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Smithers' voice actor [[Harry Shearer]]]]
In 2004, ''The Simpsons'' producers announced that one of their characters was going to [[coming out|come out]] of [[closeted|the closet]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Gary|last=Susman|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,673179,00.html|title=I D'oh|access-date=October 25, 2007|date=July 28, 2004|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|archive-date=December 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226150747/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,673179,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Speculation on who it would be was printed in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada (even claiming Smithers's "sexual orientation was about the worst-kept secret in Springfield")<ref>{{cite news|author-link=Ben Rayner|last=Rayner|first=Ben|title=We'll have a gay old time|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|date=February 20, 2005|page=CO3}}</ref> as well as in Australia,<ref>{{cite news|title=Queer eye for yellow guys|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]]|location=Sydney, Australia|date=February 22, 2005|page=17}}</ref> New Zealand,<ref>"Simpsons in gay outing". ''The Press'' (Christchurch, New Zealand), February 15, 2005.</ref> Ireland, (the ''[[Irish Independent]]'' called Smithers "too obvious" a choice),<ref>"Waylon Smithers". ''Irish Independent'': August 7, 2004. Retrieved October 26, 2007.</ref> and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Ayres|title=Homer sexual mystery as Simpsons character outed|newspaper=[[The Times]]|location=London, England|date=July 29, 2004|page=9}}</ref> Despite Matt Groening joking that it would be Homer, the ''[[Boston Herald]]'' calculated the odds of several characters being gay, with Smithers at a million to one.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Perigard|title=Scandal in Springfield; For a gay old time, Bedrock has nothing on 'The Simpsons' hometown|newspaper=[[Boston Herald]]|publisher=[[Digital First Media]]|location=Boston, Massachusetts|date=July 27, 2004|page=2}}</ref> [[PlanetOut Inc.]] hosted an online poll in the weeks prior to the episode to determine based on "cartoon [[gaydar]]" who was gay on the Simpsons, with 97% of the respondents choosing Smithers. Jenny Stewart, the entertainment editor at the site said of the poll, "We've never had such an avalanche of people voting in any of our polls as we did on The Simpsons."<ref>{{cite news|first=Misty|last=Harris|title=Is Smithers coming out of the closet?: Simpsons fans hitting the polls. Cartoon series promises answer in January, but what's the buzz on Batman and Robin?|newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette|The Gazette]]|publisher=[[Postmedia Network]]|location=Montreal, Quebec, Canada|date=August 10, 2004|page=D1}}</ref> It was [[Patty and Selma Bouvier|Patty Bouvier]] who came out.<ref>{{cite episode |title=There's Something About Marrying|episode-link=There's Something About Marrying|series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Burns, J. Stewart; Kruse, Nancy|network=Fox |airdate=February 20, 2005 |season=16 |number=10}}</ref>

In a 2007 article, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' named Smithers the 16th-greatest sidekick of all time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20041669_20041686_20041659_9,00.html|title=We're No. 2!|first=Timothy|last=Gunatilaka|access-date=October 25, 2007|date=July 28, 2004|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|archive-date=December 1, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201105821/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20041669_20041686_20041659_9,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> They have also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple".<ref name="EW">{{cite web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748~3~0~25bestand1,00.html|title=The Family Dynamic|access-date=October 25, 2007|date=January 29, 2003|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|archive-date=October 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018160211/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748~3~0~25bestand1,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Star News Online'' named "Smithers' fey way" as one of the 400 reasons why they loved ''The Simpsons''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeff|last=Hidek|url=http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070520/NEWS/70518023/0/news36|title=400 reasons we love 'The Simpsons'|access-date=October 25, 2007|newspaper=[[Wilmington Star News|Star News Online]]|publisher=Star News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928042322/http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070520%2FNEWS%2F70518023%2F0%2Fnews36|archive-date=September 28, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a 2003 article, ''Entertainment Weekly'' named the two-part episode "[[Who Shot Mr. Burns?]]", in which Smithers was prominently featured, the series' 25th-best episode.<ref name="EW"/> [[Gay.com]] ranked Smithers as the sixth-gayest cartoon character.<ref name=topgay>{{cite web|first=Jase|last=Peeples|url=http://daily.gay.com/entertainment/2011/03/the-20-gayest-cartoon-characters.html|title=The 20 Gayest Cartoon Characters Ever!|website=gay.net|date=March 24, 2011|access-date=March 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102172140/http://daily.gay.com/entertainment/2011/03/the-20-gayest-cartoon-characters.html|archive-date=January 2, 2013}}</ref>