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 Simpsons getting their predictions right yet again! Barbie and Donald Trump BOTH!” declared one Twitter user.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slapped 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.
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 installment 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.”
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, “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 traveler.”
“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.
He was reportedly trying to persuade them to remain mum on alleged flings with the former prez ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
But if we are to take this divination at face value, it would mean that “The Simpsons” predicted both 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.
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 epitomizing 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.
