What all did The Simpsons predict for 2023, besides Trump arrest and Barbie movie?

American animated sitcom The Simpsons, has the reputation of being able to make uncanny predictions about the future. Fans of the show have pointed out the 2023 predictions by The Simpsons, and some of them are unsettling. 

What did The Simpsons predict for 2023?

Before we start this list, we have to mention a prediction that's already come true just days ago. It's the Barbie movie and Trump's arrest. 

• On April 4, former US President Donald Trump was arrested and indicted on criminal charges. He became the first former US President to be arrested. 
• Coincidentally, on the same day, the trailer for the Barbie movie released. The Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is highly-anticipated and among the most talked about right now. 

So, what do these incidents, clearly unrelated, have anything to do with The Simpsons? 

• Well, turns out, 29 years ago, an episode of The Simpsons Season 5 predicted this uncanny coincidence between a Barbie doll and a President's arrest. 
• In the episode, Lisa vs Malibu Stacy, a rip-off of the Barbie doll, the Simpsons are watching a newsman delivering a long report on the release of the latest Barbie doll. 
• After about 28 minutes of the report, he casually mentions that the President was arrested before closing the show. 
• The Simpsons' was taking a dig at the media's obsession with all things unimportant while ignoring the important ones. 

Fans are saying that this prediction is the wildest prediction ever by the show. After all, what are the odds of someone predicting two very random and very popular things taking over the news at the same time and actually happening? 

Now, let's get to the 2023 predictions that we should pray are wrong:

Economic woes

• According to a TikToker, The Simpsons predicted an economic crisis for 2023 for "America". And guess where America is at? 
• In an episode, a man tells Homer Simpson, "Anarchy, the end of civilisation coming soon to an America near you." Though, Homer refuses to believe America can collapse.

US and China war

• The Simpsons have also portrayed a nuclear war breaking about between US and China that fans say could become true this year. We hope it doesn't become true ever. 
• But this one is a bit easy assumption since the friction between a superpower and an emerging superpower is expected. 

Donald Trump's 2024 Presidential bid

• The Simpsons successfully predicted that Donald Trump would become US President. And in 2015, one year before he became the President, they also predicted that Trump would contest the 2024 elections. 
• And so far, Trump has announced he's running for the 2024 Presidential elections. 

Mars 

• In Season 27 of the sitcom, Marge and Lisa volunteer to become the first human settlers on Mars. While there's no mention of 2023, a private company is shown having plans to colonise Mars by 2026.
• And just recently, NASA announced that it is training four astronauts to live on Mars from June 2023. It has also set up "Moon to Mars" programme to land the first humans on Mars.

The nudity of Michaelangelo's David

• Recently, a school principal in Florida, US quit after some parents raised objections over showing the ancient statue's picture to students, calling it pornographic. 
• And The Simpsons season 2 seems to have been predicted a long time ago. In the episode, residents of Springfield protest against the famous statue coming to their town over its nudity.