Although Lady Gaga’s appearance on Bleeding Gums Murphy in The Simpsons seasons 1–6.
Celebrity guest stars can also be a last resort for The Simpsons when the show is low on good ideas, and this tendency has resulted in some critically-lambasted episodes of the series. In particular, “Lisa Goes Gaga” (Season 23, episode 22) is infamous online for being among the long-running show’s worst episodes. This is largely due to The Simpsons altering the tone of the show and its humor to fit the uber-famous guest, something that must be avoided in Billie Eilish’s appearance.
Mercifully, the Gen Z pop star will only appear in a Simpsons short produced for Disney+ rather than having an entire episode dedicated to her arrival in Springfield. “When Billie Met Lisa” is set to arrive on the streaming service on April 22. Since The Simpsons spoofed everything from Netflix to R&B superstar The Weeknd in season 33, it would not be unheard of for the series to devote an entire episode to Eilish's appearance, however, this approach was what sapped Gaga’s cameo of any humor. Keeping Eilish's role to a short should allow The Simpsons to avoid fawning over the mega-star as the show infamously did with 13-time Grammy award winner Lady Gaga.
Eilish's down-to-earth public persona will also help. At the time of her Simpsons cameo, Lady Gaga was famous for being eccentric and larger-than-life, whereas Eilish’s brand is more grounded and relatable. As a result, her interactions with Lisa are, hopefully, less likely to be cringe-inducing, along with the limited duration of her appearance. The Simpsons season 33’s repeating a Simpsons Movie scene (only much worse) has made it clear that the show is not above repeating earlier plot beats, but the infamy of “Lisa Goes Gaga” makes it unlikely that the creators will want to revisit such a divisive outing.
That said, The Simpsons season 33 has not eased up on the show’s reliance on guest stars, with almost every episode of the season featuring at least one cameo. In fairness to the long-running family sitcom, not all of these stars have played themselves, a decision which can result in the most egregious fawning that The Simpsons has ever put fans through—as epitomized in Lady Gaga and Elon Musk’s appearances. If The Simpsons learned a lesson from these maligned outings, it was to keep guest star screen time limited no matter how high-profile the big name is. Fortunately, Billie Eilish's short proves The Simpsons may actually put this learning into use.