The Simpsons have once again been accused of predicting real-life events, this time with a 1998 episode that appears to mirror the current coronavirus pandemic. An eagle-eyed viewer noticed that in the episode, newsreader Kent Brockman is forced to present the news from home after characters are told to obey new curfew rules.
During the segment, Brockman says: 'This is Kent Brockman reporting from my own home in accordance with the new curfew for anyone under 70.' This comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the closure of all non-essential shops and told the country to stay indoors to limit the spread of the virus.
In a strikingly similar real-life situation, Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy had to present from home last week as he went into self-isolation. A Twitter user who first noticed the similarities shared pictures of Kent and Krishnan side by side, captioning it: 'I hate to say it, I really do, but The Simpsons has... I can't actually.'
Fans have also suggested that the show previously 'predicted' the coronavirus itself with a 1993 episode titled Marge In Chains. In that episode, a virus called Osaka Flu spreads through Springfield after residents order juicers from Japan. Scenes show sick workers coughing into boxes, sending the virus to America.
Some fans took to Twitter to discuss the similarities, despite the fact that the virus on The Simpsons came from Japan while the current coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China. One fan even edited 'Osaka flu' to 'Coronavirus' in Kent Brockman's news report.
This comes just weeks after fans claimed that The Simpsons predicted actor Tom Hanks would contract the coronavirus. In 2007's The Simpsons Movie, Hanks makes a cameo appearance, which fans now believe foretold his self-isolation after he and his wife Rita Wilson caught COVID-19 while filming in Australia.
