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Morrissey is no longer a big fan of “The Simpsons” following the series’ most recent episode.
On Sunday, “The Simpsons” aired the episode “Panic on the Streets of Springfield”, which followed Lisa’s discovery of 1980s post-punk singer Quilloughby (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) through a streaming music service called Slapify. After clicking on a link that said “If you hate everything, you might like this,” Lisa was introduced to the now-defunct band the Snuffs, who “dominated the ‘80s indie scene with their brand of literate, sardonic music that focused on Quilloughby’s obsessions, especially his militant vegetarianism.”
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Ahead of Sunday’s broadcast “Simpsons” producer Tim Long insisted the homage was a mixture of the Cure’s Robert Smith and Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, as well as Morrissey who even promoted the episode on his official Facebook page prior to the airdate. But once the episode aired, it was clear Quilloughby was mostly a Morrissey parody, especially thanks to parody songs like “Hamburger Homicide” written by Flight Of The Conchords’ Bret McKenzie.
Snuffs Songs @TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/L47HJ4caL1
— Matt Selman (@mattselman) April 19, 2021
Long also encouraged the comparisons online ahead of the episode.
Okay, that’s it: best three “Simpsons Smiths songs” get a physical copy of this poster for their mopey bedroom wall. Use hashtag #SimpsonsSmiths pic.twitter.com/LXy9ozELIW
— Tim Long (@mrtimlong) April 15, 2021
Following the broadcast, Morrissey’s official Facebook page posted a lengthy statement blasting “The Simpsons”, calling the long-running series “hypocritical” and “unapologetically hurtful and racist,” as well as taking umbrage with Quilloughby’s physical appearance.
“[W]hen a show stoops so low to use harshly hateful tactics like showing the Morrissey character with his belly hanging out of his shirt (when he has never looked like that at any point in his career) makes you wonder who the real hurtful, racist group is here,” the post reads, in part. “Even worse – calling the Morrissey character out for being a racist, without pointing out any specific instances, offers nothing. It only serves to insult the artist.”
RELATED: Morrissey Slams Critics Calling Him Racist In Interview With His Nephew
Morrissey’s outrage didn’t stop just at Quilloughby — he also took jabs at the series’ ratings decline over the years, citing Hank Azaria’s voice work as Apu as “structural racism” and saying “SNL” does a better job at satirizing subjects.
“Unlike the character in ‘The Simpsons” “Panic” episode…….Morrissey has never made a “cash grab”, hasn’t sued any people for their attacks, has never stopped performing great shows, and is still a serious vegan and strong supporter for animal rights,” the statement continues. “By suggesting all of the above in this episode…’The Simpsons” hypocritical approach to their storyline says it all. Truly they are the only ones who have stopped creating, and have instead turned unapologetically hurtful and racist.”
Morrissey later shared another statement on his official website adding that he would take legal action against the animated series, if he could afford it.
“The hatred shown towards me from the creators of ‘The Simpsons’ is obviously a taunting lawsuit, but one that requires more funding than I could possibly muster in order to make a challenge,” he said.
“Neither do I have a determined business squad of legal of legal practitioners ready to pounce. I think this is generally understood and is the reason why I am so carelessly and noisily attacked.”
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