In April, The Simpsons pissed off Morrissey with the show’s portrayal of the former Smiths singer as an overweight racist on an episode titled “Panic on the Streets of Springfield.” Now, you can hear “Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You)”, one of the songs performed by Quilloughby, the Benedict Cumberbatch-voiced character parodying Morrissey.
The track was written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords and was released via Hollywood Records. It features Cumberbatch (as Quilloughby) dueting with Yeardley Smith (as Lisa Simpson). With lyrics like “Everybody is horrid/ And my dear, I fear/ You are too,” it doesn’t sound too far off from a Smiths record. Take a listen below.
“Panic on the Streets of Springfield” saw Lisa become obsessed with Quilloughby after discovering his band The Snuff’s on a streaming service. The British singer soon appears in Lisa’s life in imaginary form — albeit as his 1980s self.
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After Lisa has an opportunity to attend a Snuffs reunion concert, she soon discovers that Quilloughby is no longer his former self — instead, he’s now overweight, racist, and worst of all, he eats meat. “I was [a vegan], until I found out veganism was invented by foreigners, for whom there are far too many on this planet,” Quilloughby proclaims.
An initial statement posted to Facebook by his manager blasted the show for trying “to capitalize on cheap controversy and expounding on vicious rumors.” It also objected to the character being racist, despite Morrissey’s long history of spewing racist rhetoric.
Morrissey himself later attributed being “carelessly and noisily attacked” to his music affecting “people in a strong and beautiful way, since music is no longer required to.”
