D'OH! Voice of Iconic Gay Character Quits 'The Simpsons'

This is anything but "excellent."

The world of animation may have lost one of its on-screen LGBT pioneers this week when the voice actor of Waylon Smithers, the gay assistant obsessed with both his Malibu Stacy doll collection and his nonagenarian boss Mr. Burns, announced he was leaving the popular primetime sitcom after 26 years.

Harry Shearer, the voice behind Smithers and numerous other iconic characters in the series, announced his departure from the long-running series via Twitter Thursday, citing a message from a lawyer for the show's producer James L. Brooks.

From James L. Brooks' lawyer: "show will go on, Harry will not be part of it, wish him the best. This because I wanted what we've always had: the freedom to do other work. Of course, I wish him the very best."

Shearer previously dropped hints of his displeasure with Fox when it announced the show was returning for two more seasons, but neglected to mention any cast members.

"Doesn't this show have a cast?" he tweeted.

Entertainment Weekly notes other longtime cast members Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, and Hank Azaria all signed contracts for two more seasons, but Shearer remained a holdout. Producers of the animated series already began production on season 27 without Shearer in the hopes that his contract dispute would be settled.

In addition to Smithers, Shearer is responsible for providing the voice for numerous other beloved Sprinfieldites including Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principle Skinner, newsman Kent Brockman and school bus driver Otto.

No mention has been made of which, if any of the Shearer-voiced characters, will remain on the show. In the past, the show's producers retired characters upon the departure of their voice. The deaths of Phil Hartman in 1998 and Marcia Wallace in 2013, ended characters of Troy McClure and Edna Krabappel.

"The Simpsons" is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009, it surpassed the 1950s show "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.