Yeardley Smith, the actress who voices Lisa on "The Simpsons," slammed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday after he tweeted an image of the character ripping up an essay — an apparent jibe at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who tore up a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech.
Pompeo tweeted a still from the 1991 episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" that shows Lisa, an idealistic young liberal, tearfully destroying an essay about American greatness that she wrote for a children's contest in Washington, D.C.
"I might just add f--- you @mikepompeo for co-opting my character to troll @SpeakerPelosi," Smith tweeted Wednesday morning. "Be a leader and fight you own fight! Oh, wait I forgot, you’re a follower."
Smith criticized Pompeo in response to a tweet from Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-NJ. He was one of several Twitter users who pointed out that Lisa only rips up the essay because she overheard a crooked congressman taking a bribe from a lobbyist, souring her on Washington.
"In this episode Lisa loses her faith in democracy after seeing a corrupt politician selling out American values and liberty. Like your boss," Pascrell tweeted, directing his ire at Pompeo. "Nice self-own though."
Pompeo also came under fire from Bill Oakley, a former "Simpsons" writer and showrunner, who tweeted a plea: "Mr. Secretary of State please do not ever ever ever use Simpsons material in your twitter or watch the show or refer to it in any way."
Pelosi drew a mix of praise and jeers for tearing up a copy of President Trump's speech after he concluded his address in the House chamber, an unprecedented gesture that highlighted the tension between the two political leaders and underscored the tense partisan divide in Washington.
"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" concludes with Lisa, devastated over evidence of political graft and determined to expose it, writing a new essay titled "Cesspool on the Potomac" that helps send the corrupt congressman to prison.
"The city of Washington was built on a stagnant swamp some 200 years ago, and very little has changed," Lisa tells the essay contest judges. "It stank then and it stinks now — only today it is the fetid stench of corruption that hangs in the air.”
