Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr have all appeared on The Simpsons over its decades-long run, but only one of the Beatles made the show keep a promise.
In the season seven episode, “Lisa the Vegetarian,” Paul, his then-wife Linda, and “the fifth Beatle” Apu helped Lisa commit to being a vegetarian — and reveal that if you listen to “Maybe I’m Amazed” backwards, there’s a ripping lentil soup recipe. But mostly the vegetarian thing. The Simpsons staff was able to book McCartney only after agreeing to a unique stipulation, and before you ask, it has nothing to do with marrying a carrot.
“The wonderful story about Lisa becoming a vegetarian is that Paul and Linda McCartney said they would not come on the show unless Lisa remained a vegetarian for the life of the series,” Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa, said on the Allrecipes podcast to promote her Oil & Water series. “And we’ve kept our promise.” McCartney “always checks” in to make sure they live up to their word, but there was a close call in the season 24’s “Penny-Wiseguys” when Lisa added insects to her diet.
“The saving grace was that even after she ate the bugs, she then reversed course and went, this isn’t for me. I’m going back to my vegetarian ways,” Smith said. “So, I feel like ultimately we kept our promise, even if she stuck her toe in unknown waters.”
“Lisa the Vegetarian” taught me so much about vegetarianism and tolerance and animal rights, but mostly, it taught me that you don’t win friends with salad.
You can listen to the episode below.
This week, @YeardleySmith sits down with host @MARTIEparty to chat about cooking for fun, favorite recipes, and the gift of being #LisaSimpson. Listen here: https://t.co/cLD9vNERzT pic.twitter.com/9TJ9LTaJ1v
— Allrecipes (@Allrecipes) May 22, 2021
(Via the Hill)