KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 ― The Simpsons has been praised for the inclusion of an inspirational breast cancer survivor character with one breast after unilateral mastectomy.
Marking the breast cancer awareness month, Dr Wendy Sage, a hypnotherapist, made her debut on the Fox animated comedy on Sunday night's episode.
According to Daily Mail, the character was developed and dubbed by actress, writer and breast cancer survivor Renee Ridgeley who is also the wife of Simpson’s showrunner Matt Selman.
The episode, titled Lisa's Belly, which emphasised a watershed moment for all breast cancer survivors, was all about body positivity and those who had chosen to remain flat rather than have breast reconstructive surgery.
In the episode, the new character, Sage, chose not to have surgical reconstruction after her unilateral mastectomy which survivors refer to as a “uniboob.”
She also has a noticeable scar from her port-o-cath, a device placed under the skin for chemotherapy.
Ridgeley, who has openly lived as a one-breasted woman, told Yahoo Life that the character Sage appears on the screen as the person she is right now.
She went on to say that she has been hounding many individuals in the entertainment industry, including her spouse, regarding the inclusion of breast cancer survivors in the cast.
Fans were overjoyed to see the inclusion and representation in the touching episode, which made them leave overwhelming comments for her Instagram post on her Less than two breast official page.
Ridgeley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and previously opted for reconstruction after mastectomy.
Her breast implants were eventually removed since they were giving her health problems.
Selman, who supports his wife's advocacy work, had an index card with a note “Simpson's uniboob” on his desk for a number of years, stating that he wanted the character to blend in perfectly with the sitcom.
When they started working on the new episode written by Juliet Kaufman, he thought the Sage’s character was the ideal fit for the issue of body acceptance.
“The people who have watched it so far are more emotionally touched by any other episode I've ever worked on, which is just complete magic,
“I did feel good about it. But people are just watching it and crying! You do want to make them laugh. But crying is a close second,” explained Selman.
