A decades-old episode of The Simpsons is making the rounds online again after viewers noticed an unsettling parallel between one of its final jokes and real-world allegations tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The resurfaced clip depicts shadowy elites running the world from a remote island and was quickly tied to familiar "Simpsons predicted it" discourse. But this time, and for obvious reasons, the reaction was darker.
What happens in The Simpsons island episode, and why are fans tying it to Epstein?
In season 12's "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes," which first aired on Dec. 3, 2000, Homer discovered the internet and became a gossip blogger.
He wrote under the alias Mr. X and spilled Springfield’s secrets until the desire to be recognized became too much, and he revealed himself. After winning the Pulitzer for his work as Mr. X, Homer's tips dried up, and he began making up stories to keep the views coming.
When one of his fake stories turned out to be true, shadowy forces kidnapped Homer. They sent him to "The Island," a place for people who knew too much.
In the last couple of minutes of the episode, Homer escaped The Island and attempted to warn others on his website, writing, "Attention: Some crazy creeps on an island somewhere are secretly running the world."
But the "creeps" were ready for him, and the family ended up trapped in a perpetual hallucination at the end of the episode.
As the clip circulated, some people connected the reference to Epstein’s island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Some fans pointed to allegations involving Simpsons creator Matt Groening. In unsealed court records from 2019, Virginia Giuffre (then Roberts) described an alleged encounter on Epstein’s private jet, according to Business Insider.
She claimed in that recounting that Groening rode along and chatted about the show, but that Epstein insisted she give Groening a foot massage mid-flight.
She described the experience in vivid terms, saying, "I never turned down a client but when I saw the shape of his feet, I nearly threw up at the thought of having to touch them."
Roberts said Groening later gave her signed sketches of Homer and Bart.
A Simpsons "prediction," a parody, or something else entirely?
Online reactions arrived fast and ranged widely. On Reddit, u/dude-dudette asked, "Simpsons did it or Simpsons knew?" Meanwhile, u/Disastrous-Ad2800 wrote, "this episode really raised my eyebrows as in WTF?? in hindsight it fits perfectly.."
@Don__47 shared a clip from the end of the episode, writing, "Season 12, Episode 6 '26 years ago'.. It’s not a prediction, It’s a plan!"
On X, @ServoEnjoyer argued that viewers missed how raw the episode's parody of The Prisoner already was.
Others leaned harder into accusation, such as @ps_trump, who claimed, "The Simpsons warned the world about the orgies on Epstein’s island."
Criticism sharpened people brought up Groening’s name. @theparodaccount shared the opinion, "So the creator of The Simpsons was on the Epstein file #EpsteinFiles It’s all making sense now the whole show was not predicting sh*t it was just an inside joke…."
@Metermaid1935 shared screenshots of reports on Groening's connection to Epstein, saying, "Oh sh*t! Matt Groening put Epstein in the Simpsons!"
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
