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Is Morrissey racist? Singer slams ‘The Simpsons’ for ‘hurtful’ parody as an overweight man who eats meat

'I thought Morrissey being racist was the one thing we could all agree on,' a Twitter user said.

The Smiths frontman Morrissey's team slammed how 'The Simpsons' depicted the singer on the cult show, calling the portrayal "hurtful and racist". The show's creators, according to the singer's manager Peter Katsis, are "trying to capitalize on cheap controversy and expounding on vicious rumors".

By "showing the Morrissey character with his belly hanging out," he said they had used "harshly hateful tactics". Why is the manager calling Morrisey's character racist? Is there more to this bizarre complaint? Here's all that you need to know.

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What happened in ‘The Simpsons’ episode?

Lisa Simpson becomes obsessed with a militantly vegan singer of a 1980s indie band named The Snuffs in an episode called 'Panic On The Streets Of Springfield', which Katsis was referring to, as reported by Sky News. However, she is disappointed when the lead, Quilloughby, the Morrissey-esque character voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, is revealed to be overweight, a jaded star who eats meat and holds anti-immigrant beliefs.

Towards the end of the episode, Lisa and imaginary Quilloughby attend a concert to see what the real-life Quilloughby is like. He walks out on stage with his belly-busting out of his vest as he addresses the crowd: "Can't you see this show is just a cash grab," he said. "I'm only here because I lost my fortune suing people for saying things about me that were completely true." He then says veganism was invented by "foreigners." "That's right. I hate the foreign coming to this country and taking our jobs, sleeping with our men."

The character is "Morrissey-esque," but not a direct reflection of The Smiths singer, according to writer Tim Long. "The character is certainly Morrissey-esque," he told Variety, "with maybe a little dash of Robert Smith from the Cure, Ian Curtis from Joy Division, and a lot of other people."

A turn for the worst?

Morrissey's manager wrote on Facebook: "Surprising what a 'turn for the worst' the writing for The Simpson’s TV show has taken in recent years. Sadly, The Simpson’s show started out creating great insight into the modern cultural experience but has since degenerated to trying to capitalize on cheap controversy and expounding on vicious rumors. Poking fun at subjects is one thing. Other shows like SNL still do a great job at finding ways to inspire great satire.

"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..."

His statement went on to accuse 'The Simpsons' of hypocrisy, pointing out that white actor Hank Azaria recently decided to quit voicing the Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in response to public outcry. "Hank Azaria's recent apology to the whole country of India for his role in upholding 'structural racism' says it all," the statement said.

Is Morrisey racist?

Morrissey had previously in an interview given on his own website had made claims like the London Mayor Sadiq Khan “cannot talk properly” and that Adolf Hitler was left-wing. The singer also has a history of lashing out at the British royal family. Some of his outbursts have drawn accusations of racism; others, merely poor taste.

For instance in 2011, of the Norway massacre in which 77 people died, Morrissey told a Warsaw crowd, “That is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried shit every day.” In 2010, discussing animal cruelty in China, Morrissey told The Guardian, “You can’t help but feel that the Chinese people are a subspecies.”

Simpsons took Morrissey 'down a few pegs'

Fans took to Twitter to share their views. "I'm not a racist YOU'RE a racist" - said Morrissey, racistly," quipped a Twitter user. "Not Morrissey accusing The Simpsons of racism against him for being racist. That's the whitest shit I've ever heard from someone not being Trump or wearing a white hood. No one knew your ass was still alive GTFO," said another.

"Glad the Simpsons took Morrissey down a few pegs — somebody needed to. The fact that millions of people saw that — well, good. He's a crappy racist. If you're curious about the Smiths for some reason, watch on YouTube or get it somehow else - do NOT buy it and give this guy money," said a third.

"I thought Morrissey being racist was the one thing we could all agree on," a Twitter user said. "I'm glad the Simpsons poked fun at Morrissey. That man has become so rotten with age. I was a fan, but when your hero starts saying racist things. That's an instant "fuck you" from me. Idc if you like Mexicans, but when you don't like other ethnic groups. You're still a racist," said another.

"The Simpsons tries to clamber out from underneath its utter irrelevancy (yes, they're still actually making new episodes) by pandering to woke imbeciles in denouncing Morrissey as "racist." Good luck with that," said one slamming the show makers.

Simpsons director Debbie Mahan, however, responded to the criticism calling the episode a "labour of love" in a post on Instagram. "I've worked on this show for nearly 20 years. And this — BY FAR — is the most fun I've ever had working on an episode," she wrote. "My husband, who also works on the show, is an avid Smiths fan/collector, and was our resident Morrissey expert so it truly was a labour of love."

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.