From Donald Trump becoming president and Disney buying Fox to AI robots ruling our lives, The Simpsons has made several uncanny predictions over the years.
The beloved cartoon, which is the longest-running animated series in history, has now garnered a reputation for clairvoyance due to its seemingly eerie ability to look into the future.
Most skeptical fans of the show believe the claim is just a wild theory – but the show’s bizarre predictions speak for themselves.
Through 35 seasons of the show, many moments have manifested themselves into real life almost exactly.
The iconic series has forecast major world events, from the Ebola breakout and the discovery of a three-eyed mutant fish to the erection of London skyscraper The Shard.
Elsewhere, five years before it happened The Simpsons, prophesised Lady GaGa’s Superbowl performance, even showing her suspended above the stage like her actual performance.
Meanwhile a 2014 episode saw Sir Richard Branson relaxing in space, only to fast-forward to 2021, where we see the businessman, 74, launch himself into the final frontier.
Let’s take a look at some of the most elusively spot-on predictions from The Simpsons that have come true over the years…
Apple Vision EIGHT
The Simpsons, with its uncanny ability to predict future events, showed scenes of virtual reality headsets taking over society in 2016 – eight years before Apple Vision was released
The Simpsons predicted the revolutionary $3,500 Apple Vision EIGHT years before fans flocked to buy newest tech gadget.
The company officially launched the Vision Pro in-store last year, and fans posted videos of them using the new tech in everyday life.
And nine years ago, the cartoon showed scenes similar to what people were posting online – of virtual reality headsets taking over society.
In the 2016 episode titled ‘Friends and Family’, Mr Burns hires Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie to play his virtual reality family, which eventually becomes a technology everyone has access to.
A montage shows all The Simpsons characters wearing the tech as they walk into lamp posts and fall into potholes.
Principal Seymour Skinner has a virtual picnic and Homer and Marge lay side-by-side in bed as they virtually kiss each other.
In the 2016 episode titled ‘Friends and Family’, Mr Burns hires Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie to play his virtual reality family, which eventually becomes a technology everyone has access to
In London, video showed a man in a suit wearing the headset and walking his robotic dog on the street
Since Apple released their Vision Pro, the experience of using the device has been compared to a Black Mirror episode.
In one video shared on social media a person was seen sitting on a New York City subway car and typing in the air as they donned the headset.
Elsewhere, footage from London saw a man in a suit wearing the headset and walking his robotic dog on the street.
Cypress Hill performing with the London Symphony Orchestra
It was back in 1996 when an episode of The Simpsons featured a joke where Cypress Hill believed they had mistakenly booked the London Symphony Orchestra whilst under the influence.
Fast forward to July 2024, and that joke becomes a reality at the Royal Albert Hall, where fans watched the California collective play songs from their 90s album Black Sunday and other hits alongside the LSO.
Cypress Hill said: ‘We are thrilled to be performing with the London Symphony Orchestra in such a prestigious venue as the Royal Albert Hall.
‘It’s a dream come true, a collaboration only The Simpsons could have predicted.’
In 1996, an episode of The Simpsons featured a joke where Cypress Hill believed they had mistakenly booked the London Symphony Orchestra whilst under the influence
Fast forward to July 2024, and that joke becomes a reality at the Royal Albert Hall, where fans can watch the California collective play songs from their 90s album Black Sunday
Donald Trump running for U.S. presidency and a 2024 campaign
In the show’s 2000 episode ‘Bart to the Future’, Lisa Simpson becomes President of the United States.
In it, her father Homer Simpson can be seen flying past a billboard in the background, which reads: ‘Trump 2024.’
Sixteen years later, the reality show star was elected as the 45th POTUS, making this one of the most famous predictions from the show.
And adding to the eerie prediction – he was re-elected in November of 2024.
When Trump was elected 16 years later after the viewing, writer Dan Greaney told the Hollywood Reporter: ‘It was a warning to America.
‘That just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane.’
And creator Matt Groening told The Guardian: ‘We predicted that he would be president back in 2000 – but [Trump] was of course the most absurd placeholder joke name that we could think of at the time, and that’s still true. It’s beyond satire.’
Perhaps one of the most famous predictions was in the show’s 2000 episode ‘Bart to the Future’
Kamala Harris’s inauguration outfit
Meanwhile, in the same episode, The Simpsons appeared to offer a hint at Kamala Harris’s vice presidency – with Lisa’s choice of outfit.
The 57-year-old attended the 2021 inauguration for Joe Biden in a bright purple outfit by American designers Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson, which she accessorised with a custom pearl necklace by Puerto Rican designer Wilfredo Rosado.
The ensemble bore a striking resemblance to one worn by Lisa Simpson the 2000 episode of the cartoon.
Big moment: Social media users were left convinced that The Simpsons predicted Kamala Harris’s vice presidency in January
Matchy-matchy: VP Harris wore a purple outfit with pearls to inauguration, just like Lisa Simpson wore in a 2000 episode in which she becomes president
Tom Hanks at Biden’s Inauguration
Joe Biden’s 2021 Inauguration was scaled back in the wake of concerns about the Capitol riots a few week prior – and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But the low-key event however was boosted with a TV special hosted by non other than Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, 68.
Dubbed Celebrating America, it saw the star speak about the ‘promise of our promised land’ while he introduced special guests and performances.
In a strange coincidence, 2007’s The Simpson’s Movie saw Tom make a cameo appearance in which he gave a similar address after the Springfield residents were quarantined under a glass dome.
In a TV advert for a new Grand Canyon, he said: ‘The US government has lost its credibility, so it’s borrowing some of mine.’
Joe Biden’s 2021 Inauguration was scaled back in the wake of concerns about the Capitol riots a few week prior – and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But the low-key event however was boosted with a TV special hosted by non other than Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, 68. In a strange coincidence, 2007’s The Simpson’s Movie saw Tom make a cameo appearance in which he gave a similar address after the Springfield residents were quarantined under a glass dome
Capitol Riots
Similarly, the long-running programme may have also predicted the US Capitol Riots which occurred in January 2021, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters caused chaos as they sought to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential elections.
Eerily, In the Treehouse of Horror XXXI episode, Homer sleeps through election day and doesn’t get to place his vote.
He later awakes to complete and utter chaos and mayhem on the streets, with the character later seen on Inauguration Day in homemade body armour sitting on the roof of his house as Springfield burns around him.
Similarly, the long-running programme may have also predicted the US Capitol Riots which occurred in January 2021, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters caused chaos as they sought to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential elections
Similarities: Eerily, In the Treehouse of Horror XXXI episode, Homer sleeps through election day and doesn’t get to place his vote. He later awakes to complete and utter chaos and mayhem on the streets in a strange prediction for the future
Homer is later seen on Inauguration Day in homemade body armour sitting on the roof of his house as Springfield burns around him
The Covid Pandemic
The Simpsons predicted the spread of the deadly coronavirus 27 years before the outbreak.
In an episode from 1993, something called the ‘Osaka Flu’ spreads through Springfield after residents order juicers from Japan.
The claim emerged on social media after fans began posting about the similarities between the episode of the show titled ‘Marge in Chains’ and the real world.
Scenes show juicers being packed into boxes as sick workers cough all over them – sending the virus to America.
In the episode from 1993 a virus called Osaka Flu spreads through Springfield after residents order juicers from Japan
Principal Skinner opens the juicer delivery from Japan and catches the disease in the episode from 1993
AI robots’ takeover
In the 2012 episode of season 23, titled ‘Them, Robot’ Homer loses his job at the nuclear plant after his employer Mr Burns replaces all members of staff with robots.
Over two decades on, the world has seen a rapid development of artificial intelligence, resulting in robots serving as waiters in Japan along with self-driving Tesla cars.
Ebola outbreak
In a scene from the 1997 episode, ‘Lisa’s Sax’, Marge can be seen holding a book titled ‘Curious George and the Ebola Virus’.
Although Ebola was first discovered in 1976, Ebola had its largest outbreak on record in 2014 and 2015, which resulted in more than 11,000 deaths across the globe.
Smartwatches
In the episode ‘Lisa’s Wedding’, which aired in 1995, characters are seen using watch-like devices to communicate.
This prediction came true with the advent of smartwatches like the Apple Watch and other wearable tech.
The Fifa corruption scandal
In the 2014 episode, ‘You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee’. Homer becomes a referee at the World Cup and exposes corruption within the soccer organisation.
A year after the episode aired, a real-life scandal erupted involving top Fifa officials being indicted for corruption and bribery.
In the 2014 episode, ‘You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee’, Homer becomes a referee at the World Cup and exposes corruption within the soccer organisation
A year after the episode aired, a real-life scandal erupted involving top Fifa officials – including Alejandro Burzaco (centre) – being indicted for corruption and bribery
Disney buying 20th Century Fox
In ‘When You Dish Upon a Star’, which was aired in 1998, a sign reading ’20th Century Fox, a Division of Walt Disney Co.’ appears.
Just under a decade later, in 2017, Disney announced its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in a $52.4 billion deal, bringing the eerie prediction to fruition.
Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance
In the 2012 episode, ‘Lisa Goes Gaga’, the Bad Romance singer performs a concert that involved being suspended in the air.
And only a few years later, during the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017, Lady Gaga made a grand entrance: descending from the stadium roof trapeze-style while singing, mirroring her performance in the animated series.
In the 2012 episode, ‘Lisa Goes Gaga’, the Bad Romance singer performs a concert that involved being suspended in the air
During the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017, Lady Gaga made a grand entrance: descending from the stadium roof trapeze-style while singing
Faulty voting machines in the U.S. election
In the ‘Treehouse of Horror XIX’ episode, aired in 2008, Homer attempts to vote for Barack Obama, but the voting machine repeatedly registered his vote for John McCain.
In the 2012 United States presidential election, there were reports of ballot machines flipping votes from Obama to Mitt Romney in the state of Pennsylvania, which resulted in a machine being removed from voting booths.
In the ‘Treehouse of Horror XIX’ episode, aired in 2008, Homer attempts to vote for Barack Obama, but the voting machine repeatedly registers his vote for John McCain
In the 2012 United States presidential election, there were reports of ballot machines flipping votes from Obama (pictured, left) to Mitt Romney (right) in the state of Pennsylvania
Nobel Prize winner
In the 2010 episode ‘The Simpsons’, Milhouse predicts that Bengt. R. Holmström will win the Nobel Peace Prize in Economics.
In 2016, Holmström, alongside fellow economist Oliver Hart, indeed actually did win the prestigious award for their work on improving the design of contracts and the deals that bind together employers and their workers, according to The New York Times.
Siegfried & Roy tiger attack
In the episode ‘$pringfield’, which was aired in 1993, a white tiger attacks a pair of fictional magicians named Gunter and Ernst.
And ten years later in 2003, Roy Horn of the famous duo Siegfried & Roy was left partially paralysed and confined to a wheelchair after being attacked by Montecore, a 400-pound white Bengal tiger, during a live performance.
The legendary magician later died aged 75 of complications from the coronavirus in a Las Vegas hospital in 2020.
In the episode ‘$pringfield’, which was aired in 1993, a white tiger attacks a pair of fictional magicians named Gunter and Ernst
Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy, died after testing positive for COVID-19. He is pictured above performing with a white tiger during the duo’s 15,000th live show in 1996
Video calling
In the 1995 episode, ‘Lisa’s Wedding’, characters use video phones to communicate.
This prediction became reality with the widespread adoption of video calling services such as Skype, FaceTime, and Zoom.
Greece’s economic crisis
In the episode ‘Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson’, aired in 2012, a ticker on a news show reads: ‘Europe puts Greece on eBay’.
Just a few years later, the nation experienced a severe economic crisis that led to austerity measures and bailouts – the effects of which are still felt to this day.
Richard Branson’s space race
Images of Sir Richard Branson enjoying a spaceflight went viral in 2021 after the businessman, 74, launched himself towards the stars, in a bizarre case of real life imitating art
Sir Richard Branson floats in zero gravity on board Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane VSS Unity after reaching the edge of space above Spaceport America
Images of Sir Richard Branson enjoying a spaceflight went viral in 2021 after the businessman, 74, launched himself towards the stars, in a bizarre case of real life imitating art.
The entrepreneur successfully earned his astronaut wings after travelling to the edge of space on board a Virgin Galactic flight, making him the first spaceflight founder to travel to space on his own ship.
Video of the magnate was beamed back to earth as he experienced weightlessness and floated around the cabin of the vessel.
The footage was strangely similar to a scene in a 2014 episode of The Simpsons called The War of Art, from the show’s 25th series.