The Simpsons has made another prediction, this time about former president Donald Trump and the upcoming Barbie movie – and it came true this week.
Ben Cost – New York Post
The D’oh-racle of comedy cartoons has done it again.
The Simpsons is notorious for making eerily accurate “predictions,” but this time they might’ve executed a prophetic twofer.
Social media users are attributing the clairvoyant cartoon with foretelling two unrelated current events – former president Donald Trump’s arraignment and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie hysteria – in the same episode, the New York Post reports.
“The Simpsons getting their predictions right yet again! Barbie and Donald Trump BOTH!” declared one Twitter user.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slapped Mr Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Tuesday, marking the first-ever instance of a former president being indicted.
This monumental development just so happened to coincide with the release of a new teaser trailer for the live-action Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
The alleged prophetic scene from The Simpsons episode Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy. Picture: FOX
And while these current events seemingly couldn’t be less related, both were allegedly plot points in a 1994 episode of The Simpsons.
This latest case of art anticipating life occurred during an instalment titled Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy, in which Lisa Simpson strives to make Barbie creators come out with a more feminist toy that empowers young girls.
In one of the scenes, a clip which has spread widely across social media, the banana-skinned Springfieldians are seen watching a TV program where anchor Kent Brockman addresses her campaign.
“Though it was unusual to spend 28 minutes reporting on a doll, this reporter found it impossible to stop talking,” the broadcaster deadpans.
“It’s just really fascinating news folks. Good night.”
Social media users called it the best Simpsons prediction yet. Picture: FOX
Then, in a whiplash-inducing pivot that is typical of the animated newsman, Brockman concludes the segment by announcing that the president has been arrested.
Needless to say, The Simpsons fans deemed this their most prescient prognostication yet. “Barbie Movie and Trump Arrest? Simpsons predicting the future again,” claimed one Twitter user of the purported parallel.
Another chimed in, “I’m convinced someone on The Simpsons’ team was a time traveller.”
“Not gonna lie, this is the wildest Simpsons prediction yet,” declared one Twitter user.
What creator Matt Groening couldn’t have guessed nearly 30 years ago are the real-life headlines today: Trump’s charges stem from a “catch-and-kill” scheme that involved making six-figure hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Mr Trump appeared in court. Picture: Seth Wenig/Associated Press/Bloomberg via Getty Images
He was reportedly trying to persuade them to remain mum on alleged flings with the former president ahead of his 2016 election campaign.
But if we are to take this divination at face value, it would mean that The Simpsons predicted both Mr Trump’s presidency and his indictment.
As for the other angle, the episode took place in the 1990s, when the toy’s popularity was arguably at an all-time high and, therefore, not an unusual reference in media at the time.
Perhaps more insightful was the episode’s premise of revamping Barbie’s image to mirror modern-day values – which remains a point of contention today.
The second Barbie teaser trailer dropped this week. Picture: Warner Brothers/Twitter
In 2019, Barbie’s parent company Mattel launched a gender-neutral Barbie, prompting right-wing critics to accuse the firm of kowtowing to the “woke” masses.
By contrast, progressive audiences praised the plastic purveyor for epitomising inclusivity.
And while there was no Malibu Stacy film in The Simpsons universe, real-life director Gerwig’s Barbie is expected to be a more complex and self-aware version of the classic doll character – just as Lisa Simpson would have wanted it.
These forecasts join a long line of The Simpsons predictions to ostensibly come true.
In the past, they’ve been credited with foreseeing everything from the Capitol Riots to Kamala Harris becoming vice president.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/flashback/fans-convinced-the-simpsons-predicted-donald-trump-arrest-barbie-movie/news-story/cad19d1bc185617ee30f2fc73052f9f4