Homer Simpson Died at the Emmy Awards and Nobody Is Talking About It

Imagine, if you will, it’s TV’s biggest night: the Emmy Awards. A long-time TV staple enters at the top of the show to host, the crowd applauds and cheers. And then suddenly, they die, right there on live television. You’d think there would be some official statement, a time of mourning… Anything. Yet that’s exactly what happened with Homer Simpson last night (September 22), and nobody is talking about it.

Here’s the scene, in case you missed the Emmys like most of America. Homer, patriarch of the Simpson family and TV star of The Simpsons for the past thirty years, entered on stage at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles just as the show opened. The crowd cheered, and Homer looked suitably honored.

“Thank you, thank you,” said Homer, gasping. “For those of you out there who are without hope, this has been my impossible dream. If it can happen to me, then you–”

…at which point, a piano dropped on Homer, smashing him through the stage, followed by his last known words, his signature catchphrase: “D’oh.”

Actor Anthony Anderson of black-ish gamely jumped up to try and keep the show going, followed by Bryan Cranston entering to growl something about the moon landing and how “TV has never been this damn good” (hey Emmy Awards, be cool, okay? don’t be all, like, uncool). I thought perhaps a piano would drop on Cranston after that overblown speech to prove it was just a bit from a few veteran comedians, and Homer was still alive. But nope.

Then there was another bit with classic comedy characters in wax hosted by Ben Stiller. It ended in a very funny stinger with Bob Newhart, but that — again — would have been a great opportunity to recognize that fellow comedy stalwart Homer Simpson had either (somehow) survived a falling piano, or was, in fact, no longer with us.

The Emmys had one last opportunity to honor the life and career of Homer Simpson, and that was during the “In Memoriam” segment. As Halsey heart-breakingly crooned “Time After Time” the iMovie montage flashed through stars of the small screen, behind-the-scenes crew members and more. Here, I assumed, we would see Homer eulogized the way he should be. He’s been on TV for over three decades, for goodness sake! And yes, I understand they probably put together the “In Memoriam” reel in advance, but honestly it didn’t look like it took them that long to make. They could have thrown Homer in at the end, and it would have been fine.

But no. Again, nothing.

This morning, I checked The Simpsons‘ official Twitter account to see if there was a note about our fallen icon. Other than a few tweets looking forward to the new season of the show on FOX, there was nada. And on that note, with The Simpsons’ thirty-first season premiering on September 29, how much filming were they able to complete before Homer was struck down? Will they mention what happened at The Emmys in the season premiere? How will Homer’s wife, Marge Simpson, or his children, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, and Maggie Simpson continue without Homer? Will his neighbor, Ned Flanders, come over to help out? What about local bartender, Moe Szyslak? I could go on.

In an attempt to sever the last, dangling string of my professional dignity, I tweeted at The Simpsons account for comment. But as of the time of this writing they have not responded. Hopefully that means Homer survived. But honestly? I fear the worst. RIP, Homer Simpson.

Where to stream The Simpsons