The Simpsons Writer Responds To Claim By Famous Rock Star That Duff Beer Rips Off His Name

Recently, Guns N' Roses bass player Duff McKagan reiterated his belief that the writers of The Simpsons used his name as inspiration for the Duff beer on the animated series. But The Simpsons writer Jay Kogen told TMZ that he and his fellow writers didn't know the names of anyone in the band except for Axl Rose in the early days of the show. So where did the name come from?

Kogen said the beer was actually named as such "because it's a synonym for butt, tushy, booty, and so on." He added, "It's very weird this Duff McKagan guy wants to claim credit for Duff Beer. He had zero to do with it."

Longtime writer and producer Al Jean stood behind Kogen, too, saying he was in the room when Kogen pitched the idea for Duff beer.

In a Stereogum interview, McKagan said his nickname in the '80s was "Duff, the King of Beers," and that his management called in 1988 or 1989 to tell him an "arthouse-like cartoon" wanted to use the name as the beer on the show. McKagan said he's not surprised that The Simpsons team is saying what they're saying about the origins of the Duff name, but he isn't asking for money.

"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 said he would like to see The Simpsons team admit what happened, in his eyes, but he said, "I'm not going to ask them for money."

Duff beer is among the more iconic elements of The Simpsons, and it's extended beyond the screen, too, as there is a great variety of Duff beer merch that's sold in stores and online. Real Duff beer is sold at Universal's theme parks as well.

The Simpsons wrapped up its 35th season in May this year. It's set to come back for Season 36 beginning later this year.