‘The Simpsons’ burns Fox News with help from Hugh Jackman: ‘Putin for president’
Things got downright lyrical on The Simpsons season finale, Sunday, as actor Hugh Jackman and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich led the town of Springfield in a musical ditty about the death of the U.S. middle class.
Lyrics included “Tax breaks went to ceos // Never trickling down to average joes // And so it came to pass // Greedy rich men kicked our ass // Fiddling while they burned our middle class.”
The popular Fox show not only suggested corporate greed and shortsighted politics contributed to the deterioration of the middle class, it also took aim at its own company’s cable news network. The episode included the likeness of Tucker Carlson saying, “Putin for president, next on Fox News.”
The musical number also called out rampant misinformation on social media.
The characters sang, “Cable news declares we're doomed // And Facebook feeds our fright // They convince us things were great // When gas was cheap and men were white // So we rally round the crooks // And the creepy and the crass //The vengeful id of our vanishing middle class.”
Video Transcript
BART SIMPSON: OK, so you're saying maybe I'll have a tough time getting a job like my dad's.
- No, no, I'm saying you'll definitely never get a job like your dad's, and you'll have a tough time finding something significantly worse.
KYLIE MAR: Things got downright lyrical on The Simpsons season finale, Sunday, as actor Hugh Jackman and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich led the town of Springfield in a musical melody about the death of the US middle class.
- They chop salaries to raise stock prices--
- --cut up the pie and kept all the slices.
- Tax breaks went to CEOs--
- --never trickling down to Average Joes. And so it came to pass--
- --really rich men kicked our ass--
- --fiddling while they burned our middle class.
KYLIE MAR: The popular Fox show not only suggested corporate greed and shortsighted politics contributed to the deterioration of the middle class, it also took aim at its own companies cable news network.
LISA SIMSPON: And where are these voters getting their cues?
- Voting for president, next on Fox News.
LISA SIMSPON: And that's why our system is so out of order?
- Cross-dressing drug fiends are crossing our border!
KYLIE MAR: The musical number also called out the rampant misinformation on social media, as fans thought it perfectly explained the decline of the American dream.
- [INAUDIBLE] News declares we're doomed and Facebook feeds our fright. They convince us things were great when gas was cheap and then we're white. So we rally round the crooks, and the creepy, and the crass [INAUDIBLE] our vanishing middle class.
