On this day in vegan history · October 15, 1995
The Simpsons Makes Lisa's Vegetarianism Permanent
Paul McCartney would only voice himself on the Kwik-E-Mart roof if the writers made a promise they've now kept for three decades: Lisa never eats meat again.
The facts
- Original air date
- October 15, 1995
- Writer
- David S. Cohen (his first full-length episode)
- Director
- Mark Kirkland
- Awards
- Genesis Award (Best TV Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment) and Environmental Media Award (Best Television Episodic Comedy)
On October 15, 1995, Fox aired "Lisa the Vegetarian," written by David S. Cohen and directed by Mark Kirkland, in which Lisa Simpson bonds with a lamb at a petting zoo, refuses her own dinner, and turns vegetarian over her family's objections. Paul and Linda McCartney agreed to guest star as themselves, appearing to Lisa in a rooftop vision, but only on one condition: the show had to let her stay vegetarian for good rather than quietly reverting her by the next episode. The writers agreed, and the change stuck. It became one of the only permanent alterations to a main character in the show's history, still holding more than a thousand episodes later.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
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McCartney agreed to appear, but requested that Lisa remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series rather than revert to meat-eating in the next episode.
Wikipedia's summary of the episode's production history
Source: Wikipedia -
We were a bit worried that she would be a vegetarian for a week, then Homer would persuade her to eat a hot dog.
Paul McCartney, explaining his condition for appearing on the episode
Source: UNILAD
Why it still matters
A joke condition from a guest star turned into a real, lasting commitment: America's longest-running sitcom has kept a lead character vegetarian for thirty years, making Lisa one of the most visible vegetarians in pop culture history.
Sources
This history is still being written.
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