Ever since the running gag with The Simpsons became how far it could see into the future, fans of the show have consistently noticed parallels between the long-running animated series and real life events.
The latest in the long line of "predictions" comes courtesy of Vice President Kamala Harris' run for the President of the United States after incumbent POTUS Joe Biden announced his decision to drop out of the electoral race.
© Getty ImagesThe 81-year-old endorsed his VP to take on the job instead, which Kamala, 59, has accepted. It is yet to be seen whether she will officially be named the Democratic nominee after the Democratic National Convention this August, or whether she will actually beat leading Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Fans on social media quickly speculated that once again, the long-running FOX animated series took a gaze into the future and saw a potential win for Kamala and a spot in the oval office.
The prediction came in the episode "Bart to the Future," which aired over two decades ago in March 2000, in which a vision of the future is shown with Lisa Simpson as the President of the United States.
© FOXPresident Lisa also mentions an economic crunch "left behind by President Trump," another allusion to prior events. And she also wears a purple outfit that bears striking resemblance to one worn by Kamala herself in 2021 when she was sworn in as Vice President.
The Simpsons writer and executive producer Al Jean further fueled the fire when he took to X with a side-by-side photo of Lisa and Kamala, and captioned it: "@TheSimpsons 'prediction' I'm proud to be a part of."
As tin foil hat moments abound, here are some of the other craziest gazes into the future made by The Simpsons over its nearly 35-year long run...
The Titanic Submarine Disaster
© Getty ImagesLast year, the show was part of the zeitgeist once again after the tragic disappearance and sinking of the "Titan" tourist submersible last June, with five people on board the OceanGate expedition losing their lives.
READ: James Cameron says he was 'struck by similarities to Titanic disaster' after OceanGate tragedy
Fans quickly pointed out similarities to a 2006 episode in which Homer joins his supposed long-lost biological father for an underwater expedition to the wreckage of a sunken ship, but ends up in trouble when his submersible is stuck and loses oxygen. Former showrunner Mike Reiss even spoke out on the incident, having once boarded the Titan himself. Watch his interview below…
Barbiemania
© Warner Bros.In 1994, "Lisa vs Malibu Stacy" tackled the subject of doll domination, when the universe's Malibu Stacy dolls suddenly explode in popularity after they're given a rebrand, driving Lisa to question the ideas of womanhood and femininity they convey.
SEE: Margot Robbie is not giving up on Barbiecore just yet
In 2023, doll domination was once again the hottest topic with the release of Greta Gerwig's Barbie, an Oscar winning blockbuster that emerged as the highest grosser of the year and allowed people to question what being a woman really represents (and whether hot pink goes with everything).
The COVID-19 Pandemic
© Getty ImagesWe may have all watched too much of 2011's Contagion during the lockdown, but back in the 1993 Simpsons episode "Marge in Chains," we found a much earlier allusion to the pandemic, when the fictional world is ravaged by a disease called "the Osaka Flu."
MORE: Who were the five people on the Titanic submersible?
Similar to the 2020 treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists immediately advised residents of Springfield to remain at home while they found a cure to the virus, which also happened to originate in another country before making its way Stateside.
The Walt Disney and Fox Merger
© Getty ImagesIn a bit of poking fun at the hand that feeds you, in a 1998 episode titled "When You Wish Upon a Star," Homer decides to collaborate with 20th Century Fox and even makes a suggestion to Fox executives, which cuts to the new 20th Century Fox logo with the words "A Division of Walt Disney Co" inscribed below.
MORE: You can now live in Walt Disney's California mansion, but the price is eye-watering – photos
That particular prediction hit quite close to home, though, as in 2019, Disney and 21st Century Fox settled on a historic merger amounting to $71 billion, meaning the Fox-owned animated series had found themselves a new home of their own choosing.
Lady Gaga at The Super Bowl
© Getty ImagesOn a lighter note, in a 2012 episode titled "Lisa Goes Gaga," Lisa meets Lady Gaga herself, who then delights the residents of Springfield with a concert featuring pyrotechnics, elaborate costumes, a harness lifting her above the crowd, and a moment on the piano.
MORE: Lady Gaga channels Marilyn Monroe, Madonna in stunning figure-hugging new look
Cut to 2017, when Gaga performed at the 2017 Super Bowl LI Halftime Show, where she broke out some pyrotechnics, elaborate costumes, was lifted above the crowd in a harness, and performed the ballad "Million Reasons" on the piano. It really was a perfect illusion.
The Covering Up of Michelangelo's David
© Getty ImagesIn a 1990 episode titled "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge," Marge learns a hard lesson on censorship when her demand to crack down on violence in TV ends up backfiring when the famously nude Michelangelo's David makes a stop in Springfield and residents demand it be covered up, resulting in the statue being dressed in a pair of jeans.
The debate over nudity as a form of art was brought up once again almost three decades later in the real world, when some citizens of St. Petersburg, Russia demanded that a copy of the statue displayed in the city be covered up (though not in jeans, thankfully).
