The Simpsons recently parodied Morrissey, and has now released a single inspired by the English artist titled “Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (and Possibly You).”
The song comes from the “Panic on the Streets of Springfield” episode (a spoof of The Smiths’ 1986 single “Panic”) that aired on April 18, which included a parody of Morrissey with a character named Quilloughby (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), who is Lisa Simpson’s new imaginary friend in the form of “a depressed British singer from the 1980s.”
The two attend a concert toward the end of the episode, where the real-life Quilloughby walks out on stage with his stomach protruding from his vest and confesses that the show is just a “cash grab.” He also complains that veganism “was invented by foreigners of whom there are far too many on this planet” and subsequently yelling racist and xenophobic comments.
Morrissey’s manager Peter Katsis issued a lengthy critique about the long-running Fox cartoon sitcom on the artist’s official Facebook page after the episode aired. “Poking fun at subjects is one thing. Other shows like SNL still do a great job at finding ways to inspire great satire,” he wrote. “But when 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. 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. They should take that mirror and hold it up to themselves.”
He further defended Morrissey’s character and later told Rolling Stone that he was unsure if Morrissey had seen the episode, noting, “I hope he hasn’t watched it, to be honest.”
The Smiths frontman later wrote his own statement on his website, saying he would consider taking legal action against the show if it wasn’t so expensive. “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 wrote. “Since my very first interview several decades ago I have lived with horrible accusations to such a degree that it is generally understood that ‘this is how we write about Morrissey’. In other words, I’m quite used to it.”
“Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (and Possibly You)” was co-written by Flight Of The Conchords’ Bret McKenzie and credited to Quilloughby, with Lisa Simpson as a duet.
Listen to the spoof single below.
