Sunday’s highly anticipated “Panic on the Streets of Springfield” episode The Simpsons depicted ‘complicated 8-year-old’ Lisa Simpson stumbling upon the work of moody post-punk singer Quilloughby (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, with parody music composed by Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie) via a streaming service called ‘Slapify’.
The discovery came after she clicked on a prompt that read, “If you hate everything, you might like this” – which led her to a page for Quilloughby’s defunct band The Snuffs, which “hit the indie scene of the years. 80 dominated with their literary, sardonic music centered on Quilloughby’s obsessions, especially his militant vegetarianism. ”Lisa became so fascinated with the Snuffs’ discography that she eventually called on the grumpy Quilloughby to become her new imaginary friend, and hilarity ensued. .
although Simpsons screenwriter and recognized post-punk fan Tim Long insisted ahead of Sunday’s broadcast that Quilloughby was a fictionalized composition of several 1980s British icons, including Robert Smith of the Cure and Ian Curtis of Joy Division, it was clear to any Gen X indie fan from the episode Queen is deadstylized green and pink poster, or from comedy song clips like “ Hamburger Homicide ” (sample text: “ The meat you cover in cheese is evidence of your moral illness’ ‘), that Quilloughby was based on the Smiths’ Meat Is Murder Frontman Morrissey.
Morrissey’s escorts were apparently aware of the apparent tribute and even posted a teaser of the episode on the singer’s official Facebook page. However, when the episode finally aired and turned out to be unflattering, Moz wasn’t too happy, according to a new statement posted on his Facebook, which is operated by his management company, Deckstar.
“Poking fun at subjects is one thing. Other shows like SNL still do a great job of finding ways to inspire great satire. But when a show stoops so low to use aggressive hateful tactics like showing the Morrissey character with his stomach out of his shirt (when he didn’t look like this at any point in his career), you wonder who’s the real hurtful , is a racist group. is here. Worse still, calling out the Morrissey character for being a racist, without pointing out specific cases, is of no use. It only serves to insult the artist. They should take that mirror and hold it in front of them. Simpsons actor [and former voice of Indian character Apu] Hank Azaria’s recent apology to the entire country of India for his role in upholding “structural racism” says enough. By suggesting all of the above in this episode … the Simpsons’ hypocritical approach to their storyline says it all, ”read the furious statement.
Sunday Simpsons episode culminating in Lisa and the imaginary frozen Quilloughby attending the Bummershoot Festival in Springfield to see the reunited Snuffs perform for the first time in more than 30 years. In the most devastating scene, both Lisa and young Quilloughby were shocked when the bloated, filthy, circa 2021 Quilloughby admitted onstage that Snuffs ‘reunion was just a’ money grab ‘because’ I lost my fortune by suing people because they said things about me … that was quite true, “followed by his charge against veganism because it” was invented by foreigners, of whom there are far too many on this planet! ”
Quilloughby then shouted to the howling crowd as he fired a meat gun, “That’s right, I hate being abroad! Come to this country and take our jobs! Sleeping with our men! Finally, a riot broke out when Quilloughby performed a new song from his solo album, Refugees? Again?as the young imaginary Quilloughby exclaimed, “Is this what have I become? I’m greedy, I’m spiteful, and my face looks like a syphilitic moon! “
The jabs mentioned above were clear references to, among other things, Morrissey’s libel suit against the British music newspaper the NME about a 2007 profile he said was racist, and the increasingly alarming xenophobic and anti-immigration comments he made in the years since (much to the dismay of his liberal fan base). It remains to be seen whether Long’s freedoms with the Quilloughby character, and Long’s denial that the character was entirely Morrissey inspired, will keep Moz from taking another lawsuit. Representatives for Fox or The Simpsons have not yet responded to Morrissey’s comments.
The episode “Panic on the Streets of Springfield” from The Simpsons closed with Lisa, already annoyed by the crabby Quilloughby’s constant “whine” during their sunny Bummershoot excursion, calling the future Quilloughby a “massive racist” and breaking their imaginary friendship bittersweet. Quilloughby gave Lisa the following parting advice: “Lisa, honey, don’t let him happen to you. Don’t try to spot everywhere. And listen to others, at least a little, maybe one in five times, but I can’t tell you what times. “
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