The Simpsons earned Morrissey’s wrath after parodying the former Smiths frontman in a episode of the show.
The singer was satirized during the episode Panic on the Streets of Springfield, which aired Sunday night in the US. In the episode, Lisa Simpson falls in love with a fictional band called the Snuffs and becomes friends with his frontman, Quilloughby.
The character, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, is a young, depressed British singer from the eighties who, like Morrissey, is vegan and has a knack. The episode features another nod to the singer, including an Oscar Wilde poster and titles for parody songs, including How Late Is Then, Hamburger Homicide and Everyone Is Horrid Except Me and Possibly You.
However, it turns out that Quilloughby is a figment of Lisa’s imagination and that her dream is shattered when he turns into a gray, carnivorous, overweight man with anti-immigrant views.
Hours after the episode aired, a statement written by Morrissey on behalf of Morrissey through his manager, Peter Katsis, appeared on the singer’s Facebook page, calling the program “hurtful and racist.”
“It’s amazing what a ‘turn for the worst’ the writing for The Simpsons TV show has taken in recent years,” the statement said. “Having fun on topics is one thing … but if a show is as low as using harsh hateful tactics like showing the Morrissey character with his belly hanging out of his shirt (if he’s never been up to it). a stage in his career did not seem so) you wonder who the real hurtful, racist group is.
“Even worse, calling out the Morrissey character because he is a racist, without indicating specific cases, offers nothing. It only serves to insult the artist. ”
Morrissey, 61, has consistently denied being racist, but has been convicted on several occasions in the past for his remarks about race, including calling Chinese people a ‘subspecies’, citing their treatment of animals and that he called halal meat ‘bad’ the animals suffer, and says the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, cannot speak properly.
He also expressed his support for the far-right party for the British party, wearing a badge with its logo during a US TV performance.
His statement from his manager, who did not explain how the Simpsons episode was racist, accused the show of hypocrisy after apologizing to Hank Azaria for pronouncing the Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. “Hank Azaria’s recent apology to the whole country of India for his role in perpetuating ‘structural racism’ says it all,” the statement said.
The author of the episode, Tim Long, told Variety earlier that the character is not just based on Morrissey. “I stick to it. The character is definitely Morrissey-like, with maybe a little bit … Ian Curtis from Joy Division, and a bunch of other people. ‘
Inspired by Long’s love for British indie bands during the 1980s – he told Variety how seeing the Smiths change their lives on their The Queen Is Dead tour – the episode features parody songs written by Long and Flight of the Conchords songwriter Bret McKenzie.
The episode is expected to air next month in the UK on Sky One.