Fans of the hit sitcom The Simpsons claim that the show predicted the rise of 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg with the character of Lisa Simpson, reported The Daily Mail .
Fictional and animated character Lisa Simpson is notoriously known on the show for being a climate activist. Over the course of the show’s 30 years, the young 8-year-old character has been making speeches calling for political action that fans say are quite similar to those of Greta.
The face of the school climate strike movement has been making headlines for months for her activism and is known for her moving speeches and powerful protests. Just this week, the young activist made a speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit where she made a case for policy change that would save the environment while shaming world leaders who have yet to take action.
“People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.”
In the comments section of the YouTube video of Greta’s speech, The Simpsons fans point out that the speech seems to echo one given by Lisa Simpson in a 2009 episode. In the speech, the character lectures her classmates about how their imaginary town of Springfield will change in the coming years due to climate change. She warns that by 2050, the town may no longer exist.
Twitter users were also quick to point out the similarities between Greta and Lisa.
“Greta is Lisa Simpson. Once you discover that fact you can’t un discover it,” one Twitter user posted.
Another social media user commented that Greta is the person who Lisa would have grown into.
This isn’t the first time that the popular sitcom has predicted a real life event. In an episode that aired in 2000, Lisa is made president and while sitting in the Oval Office, she makes a comment about inheriting a budget crunch from President Trump.
According to LADbible , the show’s writer, Dan Greaney, commented that at the time, they were attempting to issue a warning to America by referencing Donald Trump as president. He added that it was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane that they were going for.
