The Simpsons has been satirising what’s happening in the world for so long now (it’s currently in its fourth decade) that what were originally intended as throwaway gags end up actually end up happening in real life. This whole “The Simpsons predicted *insert world event*” thing is ridiculous and mostly peddled by conspiracy theorists, but it’s gained traction yet again because folks now think the show predicted Kobe Bryant’s death and the coronavirus.
Speaking of the coronavirus, the GOAT team break down what is going on with the outbreak on It’s Been A Big Day For… below:
Those with an affinity with tinfoil hats have managed to link Kobe Bryant’s passing and the coronavirus outbreak to the 1993 Simpsons episode, ‘Marge In Chains.’
In that episode, Springfield is hit with something called the “Osaka Flu,” which causes many townspeople, including most of the Simpsons family to fall ill. Technically the coronavirus originated from China and Osaka is in Japan, but that’s just nitpicking, especially in the context of Simpsons conspiracy theories here.
Anyway, as a result of this flu, the entire town ends up in a state of panic, leading to a scene where a news reporter in a helicopter repeatedly says the phrase “going around and around,” which theorists claim are a direct reference to what happened to Kobe Bryant’s helicopter (reportedly his helicopter circled before crashing).
Between the Osaka Flu and coronavirus link, and somehow connecting the helicopter scene to what happened to Kobe, it goes without saying that conspiracy theorists have been having a field day with Simpsons predictions.
This whole thing has gotten so out of hand that tinfoil hat-wearers have claimed that an episode of the cartoon, Legends Of Chamberlain Heights, outright predicted Kobe Bryant’s death as there’s a scene where the basketball star literally crashes to the ground while in a helicopter and dies in an explosion.
Needless to say that the coincidences are eerie but it hasn’t stopped theorists from going nuts about the link, so much so that some have mistakenly attributed the scene to be something from The Simpsons. In response, the Legends Of Chamberlain Heights Twitter page issued out a statement saying that the Kobe Bryant scene has been removed from the show.
Now are the references to the coronavirus and Kobe Bryant’s death in The Simpsons and Legends Of Chamberlain Heights purely coincidental? Definitely. Does this mean both shows predicted the future well ahead of time? Oh hell no.
Speaking of Kobe Bryant, the GOAT team discuss the basketball star’s legacy on It’s Been A Big Day For… below:
As much as we want to believe that a long-running animated show is able to predict world events before they happen, no one can definitively tell us what’s going to occur in the future, something that Simpsons showrunner Al Jean stresses. It just so happens that since The Simpsons has made so many ridiculous claims over the decades that sooner or later something will eventually happen.
Now apropos of nothing, I’m going to rewatch every single Simpsons episode and take notes on what crazy thing goes down in each episode.
Always be in the loop with our snackable podcast breaking the biggest story of the day. Subscribe to It’s Been A Big Day For… on your favourite podcast app.