Channel 4 has pulled an episode of The Simpsons in the aftermath of the gun attack at a Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
On Saturday (July 13), a shooter later identified as 20-year-old Republican Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the former president, who was promptly wrestled to the ground by Secret Service agents. Republican presidential candidate Trump was left with a bleeding ear but otherwise said to be "fine".
Investigations continue into the attack, in which one person was killed and two others were critically injured. The gunman was also shot dead at the scene.
In the wake of the gun attack, Channel 4 – which has been re-running season 7 of The Simpsons – replaced an episode which deals with a murder attempt on George Washington with a different episode from season 30 of the long-running show.
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Titled 'Lisa the Iconoclast', the season 7 episode that didn't make the air on Sunday sees Lisa discovering that the founder of Springfield was a murderous pirate who tried to assassinate George Washington.
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While Channel 4 hasn't commented on the scheduling change – Digital Spy has reached out requesting comment – some viewers had theories about the reasoning behind the last-minute shake-up, taking to Twitter/X to share their thoughts.
One person, who had highlighted that the episode features a scene with a gunman on a roof, noted: "Just to add to this that Jebediah Springfield trying to kill George Washington is also a major plot point in the episode, so it might have been pulled because of that without anyone remembering this specific sniper scene."
"Top work whoever took the decision but crazy how this of all episodes was the one scheduled. The Simpsons' weird coincidences continue…" another user wrote, highlighting the animated series' history of uncanny and often eerie predictions.
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Speaking to Digital Spy in 2022, The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean remarked about the show getting some bizarre predictions right throughout its three decades on the air.
"Well, the bad thing for the world, but the good thing for us is there's always new problems and things that need addressing. We'll keep addressing them," he said.
"I think the biggest thing, just in terms of the show being [going] so long is we were talking about climate change in the first three episodes. And now it's really becoming apparent to everybody.
"I don't think anybody listened to us, but at least we were talking about it!"
The Simpsons season 35 is currently airing on Sunday nights on FOX in the US. Seasons 1-34 are currently streaming on Disney+ in the UK.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
