Heaven knows, Morrissey is miserable now.
Representatives of the legendary ’80s alt-rocker ripped “The Simpsons” this week, after the singer was unflatteringly mocked in the latest installment of the cartoon TV classic.
The famed mopey songsmith’s official social media initially seemed thrilled that he was being played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and even shared a Smiths-themed preview poster of Sunday’s episode, “Panic on the Streets of Springfield.”
That quickly changed after seeing the episode featuring a Morrissey clone character named “Quilloughby,” who first impressed Lisa Simpson for his heartfelt, emotional lyrics, but then became greedy, litigious, overweight, and xenophobic.
“Surprisingly what a ‘turn for the worst’ writing for The Simpson TV show has seen in recent years,” read an attack on the singer’s official Facebook page, later attributed to his manager, Peter Katsis.
“Sadly, The Simpson’s show began creating a great insight into the modern cultural experience, but has since degenerated into trying to capitalize on cheap controversies and spreading vicious rumors,” continued the online rant.
Matt Groening’s team has “stopped creating” and “has instead become unashamedly hurtful and racist,” said the post of the representative of the former Smiths frontman.
“Unsurprisingly … that The Simpsons’ ratings have fallen so badly in recent years,” the post said, sniffling.
On the episode, Cumberbatch voiced ‘Quilloughby’, the former frontman of The Snuffs, a band that ‘dominated the’ 80s indie scene with their kind of literate, sardonic music.
After Lisa Simpson made him hair imaginary friendthe singer – with Morrissey’s signature crest and Mancunian accent – made her a militant vegan, parodies of songs like ‘Meat is Murder’ written by “Flight of the Conchords” star Bret McKenzie
By the end of the episode, “Quilloughby” was fat and bursts out of his shirt – admitting during a highly anticipated reunion of The Snuffs that it was a ‘money grab’ to cover his legal costs for suing people ‘for saying things about me that were absolutely true’.
He then sparked a riot by eating a pastrami sandwich and firing sausages into the crowd – he said he was no longer a vegan when he discovered it had been invented ‘by foreigners’.
“And there are far too many on this planet!” the singer shouted from the stage, while Lisa also turned against him.
‘That’s right, I hate being abroad! Come to this country and take our jobs! Sleeping with our men! exclaimed the cartoon character.
Morrissey, now 61, has long been dogged by accusations of racism, starting in the early 1990s when he flirted with skinhead culture and nationalist imagery.
The avid vegan – who unsuccessfully tried to ban meat at his Madison Square Garden show in 2015 – once called the Chinese a ‘subspecies’ for treating animals in the country, insisting in a 2019 interview that prefers their own race, ”noted the Independent.
In a 2019 appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”, he sparked controversy by wearing a badge in support of the far-right British party “For Britain”, which calls for “the end of the Islamization of the UK”.
However, the Facebook criticism insisted that “The Simpsons” depicted him as racist just to “insult the artist,” noting that the show repeatedly faced claims of racism itself. The star’s management also reminded fans that Morrissey never reformed The Smiths, despite overwhelming demand.
However, his team seemed most upset by the “callous hate speech” of showing him “with his stomach out of his shirt (when he never looked like this at any point in his career).”
Representatives for “The Simpsons” said the show had no commentary.
But the attack will no doubt hurt the show’s director, Debbie Mahan, who called the episode a “ labor of love ” with her husband, the “ resident Morrissey expert. ”
“I worked on this show for almost 20 years. And this – by far – is the most fun I’ve ever had working on an episode, ”she wrote on Instagram late last week.