‘The Simpsons’ Parodied Morrisey, And Morrissey Is Pissed

Image: FOX

Celebrity cameos are nothing new on The Simpsons, as the show is now in its 32nd season. But a celebrity cameo on the new episode of The Simpsons that aired Sunday night has drawn the wrath of pop singer Morrissey, who’s been posting angry rants on Facebook all day complaining that how he was depicted was “unapologetically hurtful and racist.” (He’s still complaining about last night’s Simpsons. Morrissey is having a normal one.)

As seen in the video above for the parody track “Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You),” Morrissey himself is not in the episode. It’s Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the character of an 80s vocalist named “Quilloughby,” and Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie wrote the parody tracks, which are purportedly released on a label called Total Despair Records.

The full episode is unfortunately not yet available on streaming services, but many of the Morrissey scenes are bootlegged into the video above. The episode has like nine different plots (the main plot is that Homer gets a monster truck) but a subplot involves Lisa discovering an old 1980s band called The Snuffs. A young, handsome version of their lead singer Quilloughby quickly becomes her imaginary friend, and the two have adventures around Springfield.

there is definitely some humour in the idea of 80s morrissey being forced to face what he has become pic.twitter.com/12dhMBPpHq

— BossMoz (@BossMoz) April 19, 2021

The pair decide to go to a music festival to see Quilloughby’s new, aging solo performer act. The young imaginary Quilloughby is terrified to see that he turns into a complete asshole in his real-life later years. “Is this what I turned into? I’m greedy, I’m hateful, and my face looks like a syphilitic moon,” he says.

“And you’re also a huge racist,” Lisa adds.

Meanwhile on stage, old Quilloughby is arguing with his own audience, and disavows his veganism, saying he was vegan “until I found out veganism was invented by foreigners, of whom there are far too many on this planet!”

If you’re not aware, Morrissey has turned into a racist dick in recent years, and perhaps was one along. The Guardian has a lengthy unpacking of Morrissey’s racist statements and his cruel and unnecessary attacks on Me Too victims.

How could they think such a thing?
Morrissey isn't overweight. pic.twitter.com/rzs0hf4nD7

— Dementia Von Grimm (@Dementia_Grimm) April 19, 2021

Morrissey’s ongoing Facebook complaints say that “Calling the Morrissey character out for being a racist, without pointing out any specific instances, offers nothing. It only serves to insult the artist.”

Simpsons writer Tim Long denies the (obvious) charge that this is parody of Morrissey, saying that is a composite of Morrissey and Robert Smith, with “a dash of” Ian Curtis from Joy Division.