Top 10 Celebrity Reactions To Simpsons Parodies

Various Anyone who’s brushed up on their celebrity parodies will recognize Drederick Tatum as a direct parody of legendary real-world former boxing champion, Mike Tyson. From his former career to his high-pitched lisp, all the way down to his criminal record. But how did "The Baddest Man on the Planet" react to this spoof? …pretty well, actually. Tyson knows that as a well-known icon, there are bound to be parodies of him in the media, so he doesn’t take it personally and seemed to enjoy watching Drederick mimic him while punching Homer’s lights out. It’s nice to know that Tyson is accepting of his imitators, though it would’ve been nicer to hear him VOICE Drederick at least once.

Various How could anyone forget Troy McClure? His entertaining personality - coupled with the late Phil Hartman’s voice acting - made him one of the most recognized recurring characters in the franchise. One of Troy’s biggest inspirations was the late B movie actor, Doug McClure - best known for playing Trampas on “The Virginian” for those who don't know. Being a “Simpsons” fan himself, Doug thought the homage was hilarious and even caught his children calling him “Troy” behind his back. With how iconic the character’s become, we’d say that’s one of the highest compliments possible - and it makes it even more tragic that we may never see Troy on the show ever again.

Various Sadly, not every celebrity appreciates “The Simpsons’” homages. Some of them take the “rip-offs” very personally. For example, in 2014, actor Frank Sivero sued the show for $250 million over the character Louie, the right-hand mafioso to Fat Tony. Sivero believed that Louie was a shameless rip-off of Frankie Carbone, his character from “Goodfellas.” Admittedly, Louie does bear a striking resemblance to Sivero’s character, but with a voice matching Joe Pesci’s character, showing that Louie is a parody of more than one mobster. Ultimately, the case was dismissed and Louie is still with us to this day, but this situation perfectly highlights the risks of making caricatures too close to home.

#7: Ken Burns

Also in:

Top 5 Celeb Reactions to Parodies in Rick and Morty

“Pray Anything” Filmmaker Ken Burns has been universally praised for his unique, recognizable style of documentary films. Of course, his notoriety makes him perfect parody material for “The Simpsons,” so that’s exactly what they did. In the episode “Pray Anything,” Homer comes across a documentary mimicking Ken Burns’ style… ABOUT Ken Burns. The ‘Simpson-ized’ filmmaker rambles about how he can’t afford a different haircut and how he’s never been to an actual baseball game before Homer changes the channel. While Homer didn’t appreciate the documentary, Ken Burns LOVED the parody tribute to his work, so much so that he guest-starred in the episode as himself, showing just what a good sport he is.

Various If it wasn’t already obvious, Professor Frink is a full-on parody of the late comedic legend, Jerry Lewis - more accurately, his character in “The Nutty Professor.” Frink’s actor, Hank Azaria, begged the writers to cast the real Jerry Lewis as his character’s father in “Treehouse of Horror XIV”. The staff was understandably nervous about the arrangement; however, it all worked out in the end. Not only was Lewis happy to guest star in the show, but he worked well with Azaria and was flattered by his near-dead-on impression. Given his reputation as someone difficult to work with, it’s comforting that he could handle a parody of his work so gracefully.

#5: Barbara Bush

Also in:

Top 10 Most Iconic Barbara Walters Interviews

“Two Bad Neighbors” Believe it or not, “The Simpsons” had even clashed with former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, and First Lady Barbara. It wasn’t anything malicious, but it all started when Barbara publicly stated the show was the “dumbest thing she had ever seen.” It then turned into a funny back-and-forth between both parties that ultimately resulted in the Season 7 episode, “Two Bad Neighbors,” where the Bushes become the Simpsons’ new neighbors and Homer and George butt heads. Anything George had to say about the episode was not made public, but one of the show’s writers said in an interview that Barbara didn’t appreciate the parody… even though she started all this by insulting the series. Gotta love irony.

“Bart’s in Jail” In the episode “Bart’s in Jail,” Homer has a nightmare about hearing his father’s will… only to learn that he gets nothing. Definitely spooky, but take a closer look at Homer’s dream – the entire scenery is modeled after the 2019 mystery film “Knives Out,” complete with the cast wearing outfits straight out of the movie. When the original film’s director, Rian Johnson, caught wind of this homage, how did he react? With an excited tweet simply saying “made it, ma!” The show is no strangers when it comes to movie parodies, and it’s clear that Johnson recognizes the honor of having his creation be referenced by a cartoon legend… if only more celebrities recognized this honor.

Various For decades, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon was one of Springfield’s most popular residents -especially with the ladies. Unfortunately, not everyone was charmed by the Kwik-E-Mart proprietor/volunteer fireman; many fans accused Apu of being an unflattering caricature of Indian and South Asian culture. Arguably the biggest voice for this was Indian Comedian Hari Kondabolu, who brought the controversy to light with his documentary, “The Problem with Apu.” Additionally, Indian-American Actor Kal Penn outright HATED Apu and claimed he couldn’t watch “The Simpsons” because of him. Whether or not you agreed with Hari’s critiques, the show’s response was even worse for everyone – acting dismissive towards the documentary before retiring Apu’s major supporting role - leaving the store owner’s future in limbo.

Various One of the most famous cartoon rivalries is “The Simpsons” vs Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy.” From what it looks like, “Simpsons” started the fire by making cracks about “Family Guy’s” quality and how it seemingly ripped off their show. What they didn’t expect was how hard Seth would fight back… and BOY did he fight back. From cheeky jabs at his rival losing its comedic touch to arguably one of “Family Guy’s” darkest cutaway gags featuring Marge and Quagmire. Thankfully, the conflict between both animation giants is all in good fun, and it all comes to a head in the “Simpsons Guy” crossover episode where Peter and Homer settle the score once and for all - Chicken Fight style.

“Panic on the Streets of Springfield” Lisa has fallen head-over-heels for vegan British singer, Quilloughby - to the point where she makes friends with an imaginary version of him. Unfortunately, when Lisa meets the real Quilloughby, he’s abandoned his veganism and turned into a very vocal, hateful bigot. The punchline is that he’s a shameless caricature of real-world English musician Morrissey… who did not appreciate the parody at all. He made multiple posts online expressing his hatred for the episode and even said he ought to sue the show. To be fair though, Morrissey’s hands are far from clean, so it makes you wonder – did “The Simpsons” go too far with this parody, or does Morrissey need to take a better look in the mirror?