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‘The Simpsons’ Warned America Of A Trump Presidency 16 Years Ago

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 04:47 PST, Mar 27, 2016

The Simpsons key character Mr. Smithers will finally come out as gay during next week’s episode of the animated sitcom, according to NewNowNext. The producers announced that the show’s fans should expect this long-anticipated moment last September.

According to a description provided by Fox about The Simpsons April 3 episode, a moment that has been anticipated for 27 years will finally happen next week: Mr. Waylon Smithers, who has always had feelings for his boss, Mr. Burns, will reveal his sexual orientation.

Although The Simpsons’ makers have hinted that Mr. Smithers may have been gay on several occasions throughout the show’s extended run, the character has never officially come out. The description of the upcoming episode indicates that Homer Simpson will also get involved.

“When Smithers is devastated by Burns’ lack of affection towards him, Homer makes it his mission to find him a boyfriend.”

According to the description, George Takei is also set to appear in the episode as himself. According to other sources familiar with The Simpsons creative team’s plans, Mr. Smithers will allegedly start using an online dating app to find himself a male partner.

And there is a high chance that Mr. Smithers will be using Grindr, as the character was spotted using it on his phones during one of The Simpsons recent episodes.

The show’s executive producer Al Jean gave a brief description of the upcoming plans to make Mr. Smithers come out of the closet. Al Jean said that it will be stretched to two episodes of The Simpsons, and that while most people in Springfield are aware that Mr. Smithers is gay, Mr. Burns doesn’t know it.

“We actually do a lot with Smithers this year; he gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.”

Exactly 16 years ago, The Simpsons predicted Donald Trump’s presidency, according to the Wrap. And his term as the President of the United States was rather devastating and chaotic. In fact, it was so chaotic Lisa Simpson was elected as the first “straight female” president of the U.S. to patch up the country.

And while such a joke from The Simpsons writers may have seemed funny 16 years ago, in the context of everything that happening politically in 2016 it doesn’t seem funny at all. Donald Trump, who promises to “Make America Great Again,” is the most likely GOP presidential nominee in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The episode aired on March 19, 2000, and was titled “Bart to the Future.” And while the episode was written by Dan Greaney, the writer cannot recall who pitched the idea to make Trump the President of the U.S. on that particular The Simpsons episode.

In his recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Greaney said The Simpsons writers’ idea to depict America in the state of decay after Trump’s presidency was “a warning to America.”

“And that just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane.”

Greaney, who still works on The Simpsons as a consulting producer, said that Lisa inherits the country in its worst possible state, with a budget crunch. And the animated sitcom’s creative team thought: “What better candidate could ruin the country than Trump?”

That particular The Simpsons episode, which aired back in 2000, offers Bart Simpson the opportunity to take a peek at his adulthood. And while Homer Simpson’s son is pictured as a total loser in his adulthood, his sister is depicted as the President of the U.S., who saves the nation destroyed by Donald Trump.

The Simpsons writers pitched the idea to make Trump the President of the U.S. nearly four years before The Apprentice, the show hosted by Trump for 14 seasons, debuted on NBC.

[Composite image containing photos by Stephen Shugerman, Alex Wong, Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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