It was a comedy of errors.
“The Simpsons” is dividing critics after spoofing controversial podcast host Joe Rogan, 54, in a brand new episode satirizing cancel culture.
In the divisive Season 33, Episode 14 episode, titled “You Won’t Believe What This Episode is About—Act Three Will Shock You!,” Homer is erroneously blamed for leaving the family dog, named Santa’s Little Helper, in a hot car resulting in him getting publicly shamed, Newsweek reported.
Things really go off the rails when the “Simpsons” patriarch tries to apologize, and inadvertently knocks Reverend Lovejoy out of the church window. Videos of the fiasco subsequently go viral on social media, causing Homer to lose his job and become ostracized by his friends, coworkers and family.
Eventually, the doh-nut gobbler meets up with a Joe Rogan doppelganger. The commentator is never explicitly mentioned by name, but he is represented by a generic “Right-Wing Podcast” host who is the only one willing to meet with Homer following his cancellation.
Needless to say, the gag rang hollow with many critics, with Screenrant deeming it “bizarrely misguided” and “self-contradictory.” Particularly problematic, per the site, was the fact that Homer was undeserving of his ex-communication — presumably unlike many so-called “victims” of cancel culture.
Most recently, the “News Radio” alum found himself in hot water after doing a podcast with Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccine scientist who reportedly spread misinformation regarding the COVID jab and compared the US’ current health climate to Nazi Germany.
The episode was subsequently pulled from YouTube while a coalition of 270 medical experts penned an open letter imploring Spotify to create a fact-checking policy that would “mitigate the spread of misinformation.”
Meanwhile, high-profile musicians from Joni Mitchell to Neil Young threatened to remove their music from the Swedish audio streaming giant unless it jettisoned Rogan.
