A TV Channel Removes This Simpsons Episode After Trump's Attempted Assassination

There have been various times "The Simpsons" freakishly predicted the future, with arguably the most famous being how the animated sitcom predicted Donald Trump's presidency. But did the show predict another crucial event in his life? Probably not, but that didn't stop U.K.'s Channel 4 from pulling an episode that could be seen as being in bad taste in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on the former president during a rally on July 13.

The episode in question is Season 7's "Lisa the Iconoclast," which is about Lisa discovering that Springfield's founder, Jebediah Springfield, was a fraud and a pirate, in stark contrast to the normal loving visage he enjoys from the townspeople. It was supposed to air the afternoon of July 14, and there are actually two moments that could be seen as in bad taste. 

The first comes when Springfield attempts to kill President George Washington, only to walk away in defeat. The next comes when Lisa (Yeardley Smith) addresses the people of Springfield to reveal the truth, only to stop herself at the last moment, realizing the lie is more comforting. As Lisa walks away, a sniper referenced earlier in the sequence takes a shot with a bullet hitting the stage. With two people dying at Trump's rally, including the shooter, it was probably best for Channel 4 to err on the side of caution. 

"Lisa the Iconoclast" was supposed to air during a "Simpsons" Season 7 marathon on Channel 4. Instead of that airing, viewers were treated to the episode, "Baby You Can't Drive My Car" from Season 30, which sees Homer get a job at a self-driving car start-up. A random Season 30 episode getting thrown into a Season 7 marathon wasn't lost on some viewers, and even without the official news story breaking, many could put together the pieces as to why "Lisa the Iconoclast" was pulled. 

Some took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post about the marathon interruption, with @RopesToInfinity writing, "Wondered at first why Channel 4 just pulled the scheduled broadcast of 'Lisa The Iconoclast', but I think I get." The post is accompanied by an image of Mayor Quimby (Dan Castellaneta) with a man pointing a gun at Lisa talking on stage. X user @jayforeman was simply impressed that someone knew it'd be a good idea to pull the episode. "Is every episode of every show tagged with key words for every potentially dodgy scene, so they're ready for days like today? Or did someone at Channel 4 just know the Simpsons REALLY well and catch this just in time?" they wrote.

"Lisa the Iconoclast" is topical for another reason. The episode guest stars Donald Sutherland as museum curator Hollis Hurlbut, who initially opposes Lisa's plan to reveal Jebediah Springfield as a murderous pirate. Hollis Hurlbut is one of the best "Simpsons" characters to only appear in a single episode, with Sutherland's superb gusto in playing the role. Sadly, Sutherland passed away on June 20. 

Anytime something in reality even remotely resembles a "Simpsons" scene, people are quick to say how the show can see into the future. "Simpsons" fans were stunned when it seemed like the show predicted the Titan submersible incident in 2023, and a classic episode appears to predict a future U.K. crisis. Of course, this has less to do with the "Simpsons" writers being wizards and the sad reality that history tends to repeat itself, meaning a dumb political joke in the 1990s can be relevant again in 2024. But actual scenes mirroring life aren't enough for some people, as there's been a cottage industry of folks faking "Simpsons" images to make them correlate with current events.

A fake image has circulated for years of a Simpsonized Donald Trump lying in a coffin, with many asserting that the show has tried to predict the former president's death. Such images circulated once more following Trump's assassination attempt, with some claiming it as one prediction that failed to come to fruition on July 13. However, no such image has appeared on "The Simpsons," which showrunner Matt Selman confirmed to Reuters. "The image of Donald Trump in a coffin never appeared on 'The Simpsons.' It is doctored," he told the outlet following its re-emergence.

People have also faked an image trying to suggest how "The Simpsons" predicted Diddy's downfall that simply didn't happen. The forgeries have turned humorous coincidences into something dark and off-putting. As for anyone needing some laughs at a time like now, there are currently 768 episodes of "The Simpsons" to choose from (or 767 if "Lisa the Iconoclast" is a bit too much at the moment).