'Simpsons' Star Makes Clear Statement About Being Replaced by AI After Death

The Simpsons star Nancy Cartwright made it clear exactly how she feels about her work on the show being replaced with AI after she dies.

Nancy Cartwright, Voice of Bart Simpson, Sounds Off on AI

Cartwright, who has voiced Bart Simpson on all 37 seasons, spoke with People last week at a party celebrating the sitcom’s record-breaking 800th episode. With the possibility that The Simpsons could potentially run for many, many more decades, Cartwright was asked how she would feel about being replaced by AI when she passes away. 

“I think I would choose a successor [instead of AI], and I'll tell you why,” Cartwright explained. “Because AI has no heart, and I think that's a missing ingredient. [AI] might sound pretty close to Nancy Cartwright, but I got passion,” she added. “We're spiritual beings, we can emote passion and uplift people and stuff. And I don't know that a computer can do something like that.”

Cartwright Originally Auditioned for a Much Different Character

Despite being synonymous with Bart Simpson, Cartwright revealed to the outlet that she almost played a different role on Fox’s watershed sitcom. “I go in and for the voice of Lisa Simpson, who's the middle child, and I saw it there, and then I saw the picture of Bart — 10-year-old school-hating underachiever and proud of it. And I'm like, ‘Wait a minute, that's more interesting.’ So I auditioned, and I got it.”

Cartwright’s audition was so successful that series creator Matt Groening “hired me on the spot, but I drove away going, ‘It's not even a show. I was degrading it. I was thinking, ‘What is this anyway?’ And it started [as a weekly sketch] airing on The Tracey Ullman Show. And again, it was just this little hiccup, but that little hiccup started to grow.”

Cartwright continued: “And we would go in every week to do these records, and they were fun, and they were funny…Now, I don't think anybody really knew what was going on. We were just making up rules, and I'm glad I kept my big fat mouth shut because I feel like I could have told them how to do it, but this wasn't my job. It wasn't my place to do that. And I'm glad I shut up, and I kept my job.”

The role has provided Cartwright with a particular type of fame. Despite not appearing physically on camera, she’s recognized far and wide for her singular voice. “I'm not kidding. It's like we were on safari, and it got recognized by this kid, a 12-year-old kid or something. I can't get away from it.”