Hank Azaria Debunks Popular Simpsons Theory About Bart and Moe

For 27 years, 10-year-old Bart Simpson has been outsmarting poor Moe Szyslak in a series of prank phone calls. Al Coholic? Jacques Strap? Oliver Closof? Moe falls for it every time. Earlier this year, a fan theory (proposed by redditor Senor_Schnarf) suggested that maybe Moe wasn't as clueless as he seems:

"Moe always knew Bart was the mystery caller, but never showed it, instead deciding to play along to make Bart happy ... He's a sad, lonely guy who loves children and always wanted a family of his own. He's even shown to be particularly drawn toward Homer's family, as evidenced by his first name basis with all family members, and the special, uncharacteristically kind treatment he gives the children."

Todd Van Luling of The Huffington Post recently interviewed Hank Azaria, the voice of Moe, about his recent Emmy nod for Ray Donovan. He snuck in a question about the Moe and Bart theory. Is it true? Is Moe simply a Simpson family friend who plays along with the absurd jokes to make Bart happy?

Not quite.

"Uhh, that’s absurd," Azaria told Van Luling. "I never heard that before."

Azaria mulled it over for a while before again shutting it down. "I think Moe kind of is what he is. He hates pretty much everyone and has no patience for children."

Oh, well. Maybe one of these other Simpsons fan theories will wind up being true.