After showing up as a fictionalized version of himself in American Dad two years ago, The Weeknd lent his voice to The Simpsons.
The Season 33 episode “Bart the Cool Kid” aired Sunday night and features the Dawn FM artist as two characters. He predominantly shows up as Orion Hughes, who runs a fictional skate brand that’s a direct parody of Supreme. If the name “Slipreme” wasn’t enough to give that away, the box logo design certainly does. The Weeknd also portrays Orion’s father Darius.
The episode sees Orion help Bart become cooler, specifically when it comes to his fashion choices. But it also allows Bart to teach Orion how to actually skate, while the adults in Springfield appear to take an interest in the hyped brand. Needless to say, Orion and Bart aren’t pleased about the middle-aged population sporting streetwear.
Michael Rapaport also shows up, playing a streetwear bootlegger.
The Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman tweeted about the episode, and The Weeknd posted a quote-tweet to let it be known he’s interested in showing up as Orion again.
“Thank you Matt!!” he wrote. “Let’s make Orion Hughes and Bart’s friendship a re-occurring thing.”
The Weeknd has dabbled in acting in the past, notably appearing as himself in the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems, and the episode of American Dad he also co-wrote. His appearance on The Simpsons marks his third animated show, following an episode of stop-motion sketch comedy series Robot Chicken in 2020. He’s also starring in The Idol for HBO, a six-episode series where a rising pop star gets together with a cult leader.
