The Simpsons’ Harry Shearer releases weekly music videos parodying Trump – but some viewers find the CGI president ‘creepy’ and ‘nightmarish’
One described the singing Trump as ‘possibly the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Simpsons star Harry Shearer is releasing a series of satirical songs parodying Donald Trump.
But not all fans have warmed to the first of Shearer’s weekly music videos, which featured an uncanny CGI rendering of the US president.
In "Son In Law” – a close parody of Allen Toussaint’s R&B classic “Mother In Law” – Shearer, as Trump, sings about his relationship with Jared Kushner.
Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and serves as one of the president’s senior advisors, a position many have claimed he reached through nepotism.
Shearer has since released a track which tackles the Covid-19 pandemic and, most recently, a track called “Very Stable Genius”, taking its name from one of Trump’s self-coined descriptors.
He will continue to release new Trump-themed material every week throughout summer and autumn.
Shearer is known for his vocal work, voicing characters such as Mr Burns, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders and (until recently) Dr Hibbert on The Simpsons.
He has also played two US presidents before on-screen: Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
Many of the reactions to the “Son In Law” clip were positive, with one comment describing it as “the funniest video ever”, and another noting that it featured “some of the best video compositing [they’d] ever seen”.
However, many weren’t convinced by the uncanny “deep fake” special effects.
“I’m going to have nightmares tonight I guess,” wrote one viewer.
Another claimed: “This is possibly the most terrifying and horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.”
Someone else wrote that the video was “one of the creepiest things I’ve seen in a while”.
Subsequent releases by Shearer have retained the Trump voice but without the CGI rendering of the president – perhaps that’s for the best.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments