'The Simpsons' predicted Disney would buy Fox nearly 20 years ago

Life imitates art yet again.

Sean Hollister Senior Editor / Reviews

When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing jobs after that, he joined Engadget. He helped found The Verge, and later served as Gizmodo's reviews editor. When he's not madly testing laptops, apps, virtual reality experiences, and whatever new gadget will supposedly change the world, he likes to kick back with some games, a good Nerf blaster, and a bottle of Tejava.

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Sean Hollister

Dec. 14, 2017 12:18 p.m. PT

Remember when long-running animated show "The Simpsons" predicted Donald Trump would one day be president of the United States?

Turns out the show also saw today's mammoth $52.4 billion Disney-Fox deal coming. (Yes, Disney is buying Fox -- but not Fox News, Fox Business, the Fox broadcast channel or Fox Sports.)

Disney announces it has reached a deal to acquire 21st Century Fox, as predicted by a Simpsons episode that first aired on November 8, 1998. pic.twitter.com/kzloJQHeM8
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 14, 2017

We've verified that the image above isn't doctored -- if you've got a copy of the Nov. 8, 1998 episode "When You Dish Upon A Star" (or care to buy one for $2), you can see for yourself just after the 21-minute mark. (Here's Wikipedia's synopsis of the episode.)

And these are just two of the many things "The Simpsons" appears to have predicted -- particularly if you're willing to stretch your definition of "predicted." Here's a list from The Telegraph, and another from Time.

Representatives for Disney and Fox didn't respond to requests for comment.

We did speak to a representative for "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, but comment was very politely declined. "Matt does not make comments on current events, whether related to "The Simpsons" or otherwise," wrote the rep.