It has become a popular Internet meme to point out how many times The Simpsons has predicted the future with eerie accuracy, and their latest is perhaps the most devastating of all. Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Twitter immediately pointed out the similarities between The Simpsons 1998 episode “Simpson Tide,” which featured Russia revealing that the USSR never really went away and starting a war after an international incident caused by Homer Simpson.
After people on Twitter pointed out the similarities, Simpsons showrunner Al Jean tweeted, “Very sad to say this was not hard to predict.” Jean expounded on this idea in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
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“In terms of predictions, there are two kinds we have: The trivial, like Don Mattingly getting in trouble for his hair in ‘Homer at the Bat,’” Jean said. “And then there are predictions like this. I hate to say it, but I was born in 1961, so 30 years of my life were lived with the specter of the Soviet Union. So, to me, this is sadly more the norm than it is a prediction. We just figured things were going to go bad.”
“Historical aggression never really goes away, and you have to be super vigilant,” Jean continued. “In 1998, when this clip aired, it was maybe the zenith of U.S.-Russia relations. But, ever since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin got in, almost everybody has made it clear that he’s a bad guy and bad things are going to happen.”
“There is the kind of prediction, where we reference something that has happened, happening again — we hope it wouldn’t, but sadly, it does,” Jean concluded. He explained that while The Simpsons would likely address the changing global climate, viewers shouldn’t hold their breath for an explicit reference to Russia and Ukraine.
