Simpsons Showrunner Reveals Paul McCartney Is Still Adamant Lisa Remain A Vegetarian

Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Fox

On October 15, 1995, Paul McCartney made a cameo appearance on popular animated television series The Simpsons.

McCartney was not the first Beatle to appear on the show.

George Harrison having featured in 1993 episode ‘Homer’s Barbershop Quartet’ and Ringo Starr in 1991’s ‘Brush With Greatness’.

Unlike his Beatle bandmates, Paul McCartney made clear his appearance would only occur if one very important condition was met.

“When I asked him,” showrunner David Mirkin shares in a new interview in this month’s print edition of Radio Times magazine, “he agreed but made me promise to keep Lisa as a vegetarian — and I was happy to comply, because I’m a vegetarian, too.”

Under no circumstance whatsoever was the character revert to her pre-vegetarian habits.

The Simpsons episode in which Paul McCartney’s featured, ‘Lisa the Vegetarian‘ saw Simpson family member Lisa disavow met.

The younger Simpson was then ostracised for her decision until receiving some worldly advice from Paul and wife Linda McCartney on the roof of a local convenience store.

In his Radio Times interview, Mirkin revealed that more than a decade after the episode went to air McCartney is still insists the condition is honored.

“Every time I see him, he always checks,” Mirkin notes, “and he’s always surrounded by nine or 10 lawyers, so it’s quite frightening!”

“I can tell you, over the years,” Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria informed The Washington Post in 2016, “they were tempted a bunch of times to have Lisa break her vegetarian vow.”

Paul McCartney has been a committed vegetarian since 1975 and still advocates the practice.

His latest vegetarian campaign is an initiative called Meat Free Mondays.

“The planet is under huge pressure and the choices we make have never been more important,” the 77-year-old wrote of the campaign in 2019. “Meat Free Monday is compassionate to animals, it’s very good for your health and moreover in this context it’s damn good for the planet. The truth is there are lot of delicious plant-based options available so it’s not a difficult thing to do. Why not join us and give it a try?”

Order a copy of the new issue of Radio Times here.