The 5 Worst Simpsons Cameos, Ranked

“The Simpsons” absolutely has one essentially the most spectacular lists of visitor stars in all of TV historical past. Everybody from Michael Jackson to Elizabeth Taylor have appeared on the long-running sequence, which shortly grew to become a cultural establishment able to attracting seemingly any public determine from any sphere of life.

Celebrities agreed to look on “The Simpsons” with little hesitation, however the present has additionally hosted musicians, authors, politicians, and even outstanding scientists resembling Stephen Hawking. Usually, as was the case with Hawking, these visitor appearances make for a few of the present’s greatest moments, with the late physicist managing to get right into a bodily altercation with Principal Skinner earlier than revealing his chair comes with a propeller that enables him to airlift himself out of hazard.

However with “The Simpsons” now having run for 36 seasons, you are sure to have some duds among the many plentiful cameos. With that in thoughts, listed below are the 5 worst guest-stars to have ever appeared on the present.

Whereas many “Simpsons” episodes give visitor stars a complete storyline, usually the present solely manages to safe a short cameo. That was the case with season 16 episode “Pranksta Rap,” instance of how, by that time, the present actually had misplaced its means. Debuting in 2005, this rap-focused episode appeared a couple of decade too late to be related. Although “8 Mile” had been launched simply three years prior, the present’s try to parody the Eminem-led drama merely felt like a great way to promote how behind the instances the sequence was.

Sadly, even a visitor look by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson could not do a lot to avoid wasting this installment from itself. The rapper is within the episode for lower than 20 seconds, pulling up alongside Bart in his stretch Hummer and providing him a spot on his world tour. There’s nothing egregious about 50’s line supply, however he is such a small a part of the episode it seems like a missed alternative. A joke about him having to hold out neighborhood service on the native park additionally falls flat, making for one of the underwhelming cameos in “Simpsons” historical past.

One other visitor look that is too transient to actually convey a lot to the present, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed up in 2010 episode “Mortgage-a Lisa,” a part of season 22, which definitely will not be cropping up on any lists of the perfect “Simpsons” seasons. The story sees Lisa making an attempt to persuade Nelson to not dropout of college, main the pair to attend an entrepreneurs’ conference the place they meet Zuckerberg.

The tech mogul would not actually do a lot past advising Nelson that drop-outs like himself can turn out to be profitable. The one actual joke revolves round Zuck consistently updating his Fb web page with statuses resembling “Mark Zuckerberg is completely satisfied to fulfill new buddies,” and later after he is tripped at a curler rink, “Mark Zuckerberg is in intense ache.” Neither jokes actually land, making for a cameo that, very like 50 Cent’s transient look, simply type of comes and goes.

It additionally seems like an enormous missed alternative for the present, which in its sharper years absolutely may have made an actual meal out of taking Zuck and his tech overlord persona down a couple of pegs. Because it stands, this simply feels just like the writers had been counting on the novelty of getting the dude who made Fb.

There was a time when “The Simpsons” was one of the insightfully satirical reveals on TV. Although its premise revolved round sending up the concept of the standard American household, it actually functioned as a send-up of American tradition as an entire, taking intention at every part from politics to popular culture and discovering a hilarious and intelligent technique to level out the absurdity of all of it. It was really subversive, and had comedy as its guideline.

Since these early years, “The Simpsons” has been swallowed up by Disney following its merger with Fox, however in fact had already misplaced virtually all of its subversive energy by that time. Working example: the 2012 episode “Lisa Goes Gaga.” This season 23 installment at the very least gave visitor star Girl Gaga extra to do than 50 Cent, however that basically equated to what felt like a business for the pop star and her rising base of “Little Monsters.”

The episode sees Gaga go to Springfield to elevate the city out of the doldrums for some purpose, and Lisa being essentially the most depressed resident will get particular consideration from the singer. By the top, Lisa embraces the Gaga spirit, basically turning into one of many pop star’s monsters and singing a complete musical quantity. The thought is that Lisa regains some sense of who she is and what makes her particular, which in and of itself is not a foul concept. However evaluate this sort of factor to such classics as “Lisa’s Substitute.” That season two installment accomplishes the identical factor as “Lisa Goes Gaga” in a way more transferring and understated means by having Dustin Hoffman’s Mr. Bergstrom give the precocious teen a easy, life-affirming be aware that states, “You’re Lisa Simpson.” As such, Gaga’s visitor spot actually does appear to be a needlessly gaudy, hole, and business affair. Oh, and at one level, Gaga kisses Marge, so there’s additionally that.

Katy Perry was on “The Simpsons” and we may in all probability finish this part right here. However if you happen to should know extra particulars, the singer appeared in 2010’s “The Combat Earlier than Christmas,” in a uncommon live-action section that noticed her speaking to puppet variations of the Simpsons household.

The Christmas-themed episode is structured round 4 dream segments, with Perry exhibiting up in Maggie’s imaginative and prescient of “A Fluppet Christmas Particular.” The section, which emulates the look of “The Muppet Present” and “Sesame Road,” sees Moe housesit the Simpsons’ abode whereas the household go on trip. Then Perry reveals up for some purpose. Why the entire “Muppet”https://www.slashfilm.com/”Sesame Road” factor? Effectively, apparently Perry was set to look on the latter however had her section reduce attributable to it being deemed too risqué. Whereas it has been claimed that her “Simpsons” look was designed to make up for that debacle, as Leisure Weekly identified on the time, her look was shot earlier than all of the controversy arose. So, it appears her “Simpsons” visitor position was really merely impressed by the actual fact she was set to look alongside Elmo and the gang, and never her removing from the ultimate reduce.

Both means, Perry’s visitor spot did not actually do a lot to make up for something. The one actual gag is that she’s purported to be Moe’s girlfriend and that is just about it. The one factor extra disappointing is the best way during which this complete section, although designed as a parody of Jim Henson’s puppet reveals, advertises the whole lack of any subversive spirit in a present that when represented the apex of satirical TV. By the point the entire household, accompanied by Perry, get away right into a rendition of “The 39 Days of Christmas” at Mr. Burns’ behest, the urge to only cancel Christmas altogether has turn out to be overwhelming.

Keep in mind when Elon Musk carried that sink into Twitter HQ and thought it was hilarious as a literal illustration of the already tiresome buzz-phrase, “Let that sink in” (after which he fired a bunch of individuals)? Or when he acquired right into a combat on Twitter/x with a satirical online game web site over a meme, then acquired roasted for his look on “Saturday Evening Stay,” throughout which we now know he made the nice Chloe Fineman cry? Plainly for Elon, being the world’s richest man with an inordinate quantity of world affect just isn’t sufficient. He merely have to be seen because the humorous man, too. Lamentably, nothing he is executed to date has indicated that he is worthy of any such designation, together with that point he guest-starred on “The Simpsons.”

“The Musk Who Fell To Earth” was already doomed just by advantage of the actual fact it belonged to late-stage “Simpsons,” which regardless of some impassioned arguments on the contrary, is fairly dire stuff. This 2015 episode really places Musk center-stage, which … why? The person’s blunt and lifeless line readings do nothing to assist his case for being some type of comedic mastermind (he apparently repeatedly informed Fineman that her writing was unfunny and subsequently not match for his “SNL” look), and do not even appear befitting of the goofy little web prankster picture he presents on-line. It is precisely this type of factor that leads outstanding shops resembling Rolling Stone to type a grand unified principle of why Elon Musk is so unfunny.

Because the episode goes on, nothing actually adjustments in that respect. Musk is monotone all through, and the story surrounding him would not do a lot to assist issues. However this episode did air throughout a time when Musk’s on-line notoriety was nowhere close to the place it’s in 2024, so we will not actually blame “The Simpsons” itself for making an attempt to construct an episode round a person who was but to disclose simply how unfunny he actually was. As an alternative, let’s blame that man himself.