The Simpsons writer-producer Jay Kogen has hit back at Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan for wanting to "claim credit for Duff Beer."
Kogen told TMZ that, despite McKagan's claims that his name inspired the fictional boozy beverage in the animated series, he and his fellow writers created the brand without influence. He also asserted that The Simpsons team didn't know any Guns N' Roses band members' names except for lead vocalist Axl Rose back then.
"We named it Duff because it's a synonym for butt, tushy, booty, and so on," Kogen asserted, noting that it was supposed to be "a beer for people who sat on their fat ass all day." He added that he finds it "very weird this Duff McKagan guy wants to claim credit for Duff Beer" when "he had zero to do with it."
Longtime Simpsons writer and producer Al Jean shared his support for Kogen on X/Twitter, as he pointed out that he was present for the original Duff Beer pitch.
I was there when @JayKogen pitched this @TheSimpsons https://t.co/5ctTiI4Mf2
— Al Jean (@AlJean) June 16, 2024
McKagan first claimed that The Simpsons had ripped off his name for the Duff Beer brand in his 2011 autobiography It's So Easy and Other Lies. He doubled down on the accusations during a recent interview with Stereogum, explaining that he was known as "Duff, the King of Beers" and he received a call from his management in the late '80s to say "some arthouse-like cartoon" wanted to use his name for a beverage.
"I didn't know about branding or anything like that, but that show took off," McKagan admitted. "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.
"I don't care. It's fine," McKagan added, though he also said The Simpsons team should own up to it because it is not like he is "going to ask them for money."
Duffman is the mascot and spokesperson for the Duff Beer Company on The Simpsons and is one of the show's most popular peripheral characters. Decked out in blue spandex with a giant Duff logo on his chest, Duffman proudly wears his Duff Beer utility belt (full of beers), Duff hat and cape — with no guitar in sight.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
