If there's one thing we know for sure about, The Simpsons, it is that the popular animated TV series has been spot on with its predictions of the future over its three-decade-long run.
The show has been on the mark with its predictions of real-life happenings. These include the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the invention of smart watches, FIFA's corruption scandal, US beating Sweden to win a curling competition in the Olympics, Disney's Fox takeover, at least three Super Bowls and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic and the murder hornet invasion among several other events.
Given its exemplary track record, after any major news event, a rumor starts circulating on social media claiming that it was "predicted" by the long-running sitcom. Similarly, on Jan. 7, the day after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, there were rumors that The Simpsons had predicted one of the breach's most viral incidents.
Horned Rioter Jake Angeli at US Capitol Prediction
An image showing the character Groundskeeper Willie wearing a horned, fur mask and sporting tattooed sleeves while holding the American flag outside the U.S. Capitol was widely circulated on Twitter. The character bore a striking resemblance to one of the pro-Trump rioters photographed at Wednesday's infiltration, leading to speculation that the event was predicted by the cartoon.
While the photo on the left was actually taken inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and shows Trump supporter and QAnon conspiracy theorist Jake Angeli, the image on the right is a digitally-altered composite that never aired on The Simpsons.
An uncropped version of the photo shows the entire Simpsons family standing outside the Springfield Capitol and it is evident that that Marge, Homer, Lisa, Maggie, and Willie were photoshopped into an image of the Springfield Capitol. Moreover, the original version of the Groundskeeper Willie image shows the character without tattoos, a horned helmet or the American flag. It simply shows Willie screaming about something with his fist raised in the air.
'Civil War' After 2020 Election Prediction
This was not the only 'Simpsons' prediction that made its way around social media following Wednesday's events in D.C.. Another rumor claimed the animated sitcom also predicted the violence at the Capitol in the wake of the 2020 presidential election and cited as evidence an image of Homer sitting on his roof overlooking a burning Springfield and likened the apocalyptic scenes in the cartoon to "civil war."
Although this is an authentic image from The Simpsons, we cannot really call it a prediction. That's because the still is taken from the show's Treehouse of Horror episode that aired in October 2020.
The episode begins with Homer attempting to cast his ballot in the 2020 election. An undecided Homer is then reminded by Lisa of controversies that took place over the last four years under Trump's presidency.
"'How could you forget everything that happened in the last four years," she tells him before a rather long list of Trump's actions as President roll on the screen. Viewers soon realize that Homer was dreaming about the whole thing and failed to vote.
"Hey, how bad could it be?," he asks before the scene cuts to a clip titled 'January 20, 2021' - Inauguration Day - which sees him sitting on the roof his home wearing armor made of saucepans and kitchen pots as the town of Springfield is up in flames around him in an apocalyptic scene.
