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Duff McKagan wants The Simpsons creators to own up to using his name as inspiration for Duff Beer: “I’m not going to ask them for money”
“If you just do your own math behind it, look at when they started off with the King of Beers, and I had my King of Beers belt I wore all the time.”
Image: Gary Miller / Getty
Duff McKagan thinks the creator of The Simpsons used his name to inspire its fictional drink brand, Duff Beer. He also thinks the show should own up to doing so, but assures he won’t “ask them for money”.
The Guns N’ Roses bassist believes the series was inspired by his former nickname of the “King of Beers”, back when the show began to air in 1989. According to him, his management received a call about a cartoon wanting to use his name, but he believed it was only a small arthouse animation at the time.
This isn’t the first instance that McKagan has spoken of his Duff Beer theory, as he first made the claims in his 2011 autobiography, It’s So Easy and Other Lies. In a new interview with Stereogum, he doubles down on his claim to Simpsons fame: “Here’s the deal. So I was Duff, the King of Beers. But this is 1988, 1989 and our management, I remember they called me and said some arthouse-like cartoon wants to use your name as the beer, like a college arthouse cartoon. There weren’t any adult cartoons at this point.
“I didn’t know about branding or anything like that, but that show took off. And then they started selling merch and stuff. I never went after him [creator Matt Groening], but I’m like, ‘Hey, motherfuckers,’ you know?”
He adds, “I think it’s very probably business savvy of them to say that’s not true. But if you just do your own math behind it, look at when they started off with the King of Beers, and I had my King of Beers belt I wore all the time.”
When it’s suggested that The Simpsons should acknowledge McKagan as the source of their inspo, he answers: “They should. I’m not going to ask them for money.”
Duff McKagan has a string of tour dates planned for the remainder of the year. For more info, head to his official website.