As The Simpsons' central protagonist, Homer Simpson is one of its best and funniest characters. As the Simpson patriarch, he works hard to provide for his family. Overall, he is not really a bad guy, but this does not mean that he is perfect.
Most of the time he does horrible things either out of desperation, anger, or sheer stupidity. Since 1989, Homer has committed countless crimes and has gone to jail over a dozen times. At this point, it would be easier to list the things he hasn’t done. Without further ado, here are the 10 worst things that Homer Simpson has ever done.
He Stole His Son’s Money To Cover Up A Scandal
Bart has been called many things throughout the series. As of "Barting Over," he is also known by the name of “Baby Stink Breath.” As an infant, Homer exploited Bart by having him star in a commercial for baby mouthwash.
Humiliated and embarrassed, Bart confronts his parents, who reveal that he made money from the commercials. Unfortunately, Homer admits to having spent the money to purchase incriminating photos of him dropping Bart as a baby from a balcony. Bart is so furious that he tries to strangle his father with a belt.
He Let Ned Flanders Go Bankrupt
Ned Flanders has always gone out of his way to be a good neighbor to the Simpsons. However, this does not stop Homer from constantly taking advantage of his generosity, stealing his property, as well as insulting him. In "When Ned Flanders Failed," he even goes so far as to wish for Ned’s business, the Leftorium, to fail.
He then purposefully avoids telling Springfield’s left-handed residents, like Mr. Burns and Moe Szyslack, about the store. When Ned does close it down, Homer proceeds to buy his possessions for cheap. In the end, Homer's guilt wins out and he helps save Ned's business. However, this does not make up for his years of abuse towards him.
He Desecrated The Bill of Rights
In "Make Room for Lisa,” Homer takes his children to a museum, where one of the exhibits features the Bill of Rights. Then, to Lisa’s horror, Homer not only takes the priceless document, but he intentionally damages it. He even spills chocolate on it and licks off the section forbidding cruel and unusual punishment.
To pay off the damage to the document, Homer allows a phone company to put a tower right where Lisa's room is. As a result, she is forced to share a room with Bart. Not only does Homer avoid jail time, but his daughter ends up suffering because of his actions.
He Let The Mob Shoot An Adult Film In His House
The Simpson family's living room has witnessed plenty of heartwarming, as well as illegal activities over the years. One of the most explicit and controversial moments was in "The Bonfire of the Manatees." After Homer falls for a football gambling scam, he falls into debt with the mafia.
Fat Tony offers to waive Homer’s debt to him in exchange for letting him shoot an adult film in his house. Despite Homer’s best efforts to keep his family away, they eventually find out about the film, which infuriates Marge. Considering the explicit nature of his blunder, Homer got off pretty easy with Marge only smashing into his car a few times.
He Destroyed His Father’s Kidneys & Refused To Donate His Own
Out of all the terrible things Homer’s done, leaving his dad to die is one of the worst. After Homer causes his dad’s kidneys to explode in "Homer Simpson in: "Kidney in Trouble," he agrees to donate one of his own. Unfortunately, he runs away just as the operation is about to begin. He does return to do the surgery, but he disappoints everyone by running away again.
His actions are shameful, especially when you realize that he basically gave his dad hope and then crushed it twice. In the end, Homer suffers karmic retribution and his dad gets his kidney. Homer seeks to repeat the cycle by taking one Bart’s kidneys for himself.
He Is Reckless With Firearms
In “The Cartridge Family”, Homer takes his reckless behavior to new levels after he purchases a gun under the pretext of keeping his family safe. Not only does he ignore Marge’s concerns about the gun, but he also uses it to take care of mundane tasks. He twirls it around like a toy, shoots the TV to change channels, and even uses it to open his beer.
His behavior even horrifies local members of the National Rifle Association. When he lies about getting rid of the gun, Bart finds it and almost shoots Milhouse. If this were not a cartoon, he could have been responsible for causing the death of a child.
He Destroyed Springfield With Garbage
Despite his ineptitude, Homer has proven that even he can accomplish anything if he puts his mind to it. Although, most of the time, he tends to make things worse. When he tries running for Sanitation Commissioner, he ends up making crazy promises like 24-hour garbage service and cleanup. He wins the election, but his promises quickly burn through his department’s budget.
To maintain services, he allows other towns to dump their trash in an abandoned mine in exchange for money. His plan later backfires when garbage starts erupting all over town, causing an environmental disaster. In the end, Homer’s poor decision-making submerges Springfield in garbage, forcing its residents to move the entire town five miles away.
He Framed Marge For A DUI
Homer’s love of alcohol is often portrayed in a comedic manner. However, this addictive behavior is a serious issue and often causes complications for his family. In “Co-Dependents Day,” Homer’s addiction is passed on to Marge who quickly descends into alcoholism.
After almost a week of drinking alcohol, they finally slip up and try to drive home while intoxicated. Homer then crashes the car and frames Marge for his DUI charge to avoid losing his license. Without hesitation, he destroys his wife’s reputation to save his own skin. Even if Marge does eventually forgive him, Homer still proves that he is a failure as a husband.
He Strangles His Son
For almost 30 years, Homer strangling Bart has become a common running gag in the series. While it is done purely for comedic effect, this does not change the reality that it is still a dangerous form of child abuse. Over the years, Homer has found new and inventive ways to strangle Bart, like garroting him using a phone cord.
He even strangled Bart when he was a toddler, which could have been lethal in real life. In the episode “Regarding Marge,” Bart reveals that being strangled is a painful experience for him. Nowadays, Homer strangling Bart is just not as funny as it used to be.
He Got The Whole Town Trapped Under A Dome
In order to get free donuts, Homer endangers the town by throwing a silo filled with pig feces — along with some of his own — into a lake. It becomes so contaminated that the entire town is quarantined under a dome by the Environmental Protection Agency. After it’s revealed that Homer caused the quarantine, the entire town forms an angry mob to lynch him.
The situation gets even darker once Homer and his family realize that their friends and neighbors plan to hang them all, including Maggie. The fact that Homer did something that pissed off Springfield’s residents to the point where they’d even kill his wife and children makes this the worst thing he’s ever done.