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| - FACT CHECK: Did ‘The Simpsons’ Predict The Horned Rioter Would Storm The Capitol?
An image shared on Facebook claims “The Simpsons” predicted that a shirtless man wearing a horned fur hat would storm the U.S. Capitol.
Verdict: False
The image did not come from “The Simpsons,” a spokesperson for the show confirmed. It is a doctored version of the character “Groundskeeper Willie” that started circulating after the storming of the Capitol.
Fact Check:
Hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday in an attempt to disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, according to The New York Times.
Images from the Capitol riot quickly spread on social media, including several that show a horned hat-wearing man, whom media outlets have identified as Jake Angeli, a QAnon supporter who has attended pro-Trump events in the past. Facebook users are now suggesting the long-running animated show “The Simpsons” predicted that Angeli would be pictured at the Capitol during the riot.
The Facebook posts juxtapose a photo of Angeli with an image of a shirtless animated “The Simpsons”-esque character with the same tattoos and horned hat waving a flag on what appears to be the steps of the Capitol. Text above the image reads, “Definitely not staged if the Simpsons predicted it.”
While some fans believe “The Simpsons” has accurately predicted several future events, there is no record of “The Simpsons” airing the image of the animated character resembling Angeli. Antonia Coffman, a spokesperson for the show, confirmed in an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation that the cartoon image did not originate from “The Simpsons.”
“No, that is not from our show….we did not create that image,” Coffman said. “It was created by the internet.” (RELATED: Did ‘The Simpsons’ Depict Donald Trump In A Casket?)
Matt Selman, executive producer for “The Simpsons,” also tweeted on Thursday that the show “did not PREDICT this,” adding, “Someone made this yesterday AFTER it happened.”
To clarify: @TheSimpsons did not PREDICT this. Someone made this yesterday AFTER it happened. pic.twitter.com/wYK67Zqsd0
— Matt Selman (@mattselman) January 7, 2021
The image appears to be a doctored version of the character “Groundskeeper Willie.” In unaltered versions of “Groundskeeper Willie” making that pose, he does not have a horned hat, tattoos or face paint.
Though the cartoon image in the Facebook posts didn’t originate from “The Simpsons,” the show has depicted violence occurring at the Capitol in the past. In the episode “The Day the Violence Died,” anthropomorphic legislative bills carrying guns and bombs run up the steps of the Capitol. The episode “Beyond Blunderdome” depicts the Capitol getting blown up.
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