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Home / Entertainment

The Simpsons 'predicted' the Ted Cruz Cancún controversy in 1993

NZ Herald
20 Feb, 2021 09:21 PM2 mins to read

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The scenario sees Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby broadcasting a press conference to inform the public about a pandemic, and assure he had not escaped to the Bahamas. Photo / Supplied

The scenario sees Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby broadcasting a press conference to inform the public about a pandemic, and assure he had not escaped to the Bahamas. Photo / Supplied

If you've lost count of how many times The Simpsons show appears to have predicted real world events, you're not alone.

This time, it seems the animated series predicted US Senator Ted Cruz' embarrassing trip to Cancún, which he was busted for this week, as Texas struggles with historic snow and ice storms, on top of the deadly pandemic that continues to ravage the state.

Cruz made headlines around the world this week when he was caught flying to Mexico for a beach holiday, while the people in Texas froze - some of them to death.

Cruz attempted to blame his daughters by saying he was just chaperoning them on a summer holiday but leaked texts have since shown the trip was a planned week-long escape for the whole family, including the politician, who has since returned to the US.

The real-life incident mirrors a 1993 episode of The Simpsons, titled Marge in Chains.

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The episode features Springfield's Mayor Joe Quimby, speaking at a press conference while a pandemic rages.

The Simpsons have done it again

pic.twitter.com/DUYxwxivLA

— #TodayInSports (@TodayInSports3) February 18, 2021

It is then revealed that the Mayor is actually broadcasting his press conference from a beach in the Caribbean, in a bathing suit, trying to fool constituents into believing he is in his mayoral office.

People quickly noticed the parallels between Cruz' Mexico trip and the animated show's episode from nearly three decades ago.

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The Simpsons have done it again, fans say. Photo / Supplied
The Simpsons have done it again, fans say. Photo / Supplied

"Surely this has been said, but not abandoning your constituents to take a tropical vacation is such a comically low bar that it's literally a Simpsons gag," wrote podcaster Jesse Brenneman.

The show has a reputation for rivalling Nostradamus in its eerily accurate premonitions.

It most recently appears to have predicated Vice President Kamala Harris' aubergine power suit at the inauguration.

It also predicted that Donald Trump would be president of the US as well as the Capitol riots, among many other things.

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