Governor Cuomo Lashes Out at The Simpsons, Show Producers Respond
Governor Andrew Cuomo was not very happy with the now-viral diss directed at upstate New York.
Fox's "The Simpsons" poked a little fun at the area Sunday, as Homer and the rest of the family were on a road trip to Niagara Falls. Along the way, a funny musical number suddenly ensues as the family takes aim at some of New York state's more unsightly aspects. Everything from the Kodak plant, to Mohawk Valley Community College, to the area's run down infrastructure, to opioids were mentioned in a song called "Upstate New York", sung to the tune of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York".
The parody delighted some, though upsets a few others. It's nothing really new though. The show has been making fun of New York for years. One person who fired back at TV's longest running show, was none other than Governor Cuomo's office.
Cuomo adviser Rich Azzopardi tweeted:
There always remains work to be done but — dumb cheap shots aside — facts are facts: jobs are up, unemployment is down, millennials are coming back and it’s clear that Poochie was an uncredited writer on that episode.
Cuomo, himself, admitted he'd never even seen a single episode of the show.
Show producers are now firing back. In fact, one long-time show writer Jim Frink is actually from Whitesboro, right outside of Utica. Frink told syracuse.com he loved upstate NY, but was very proud of the episode. Executive Producer Al Jean reached out Cuomo and offered to give him a copy of the show's Season 4 DVD, and even to even fly him to Los Angeles to meet the cast, according to the NY Post.
Please accept with our best wishes this Season 4 DVD. You might find its ideas on monorail transportation, dental plans and local theater intriguing. Or you might just enjoy an episode or two when the demands of Albany prove too unyielding.
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