People are convinced The Simpsons are a Black family – here’s why

After three decades, 36 seasons and 773 episodes, The Simpsons’ fans are posing the theory that the long-running TV family is Black.

Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are some of the most recognisable cartoon characters in the world – known for their bright yellow skin, familiar hairdos and hilarious hijinks.

Although no race has ever been ascribed to the family, most have assumed the Springfield residents are white. Especially as characters from different races appear in the show such as Apu and Carl, with varying skin colours to match.

Nevertheless, TikTok thinks it has uncovered the truth behind the titular family’s identity. And has the receipts to prove it.

TikTok user cocoabutterofficial kicked off the theory by pointing out that Marge’s long blue hairdo clearly resembles an afro, so her and Homer could be an ‘interracial couple’.

The hair evidence is bolstered by Marge’s sisters, Selma and Patty Bouvier, who also have afros and ‘bully Homer over their sister’. ‘I already know,’ the user added.

Another user @iamthekayelle was in agreement, adding that an episode where Marge sews Bart and Lisa some wigs out of previously cut hair could be ‘African rooted’ or ‘French or Creole’.

The user, who also pointed out the fact that Marge wears a bonnet to bed, concluded ‘she Black as hell’.

In the comments, fans shared their agreement with the theory, with @no writing: ‘Look at all this sense you’re making’.

And when one user @hotmiyipalo argued that the yellow skin meant this couldn’t be true, the creator clapped back: ‘You’ve never heard the term “(high) yellow” in reference to a light-skinned black woman?’

There is even a canon Black ancestor in the Simpson’s family history as uncovered by the whipsmart Lisa during season 21 episode ‘The Color Yellow’ when she discovers she is related to a runaway slave called Virgil.

Whatever you believe, there is plenty of evidence if you go looking for it.

The show is no stranger to viral theories and intense scrutiny over its plotlines (some of which have eerily proven themselves to come true such as Trump’s presidency).

Just some of the speculation has included the show all being told from Ned Flanders’ perspective; Barney Gumble and Moe being the same person; and Bart dying in an unaired episode.

Meanwhile, its penchant for prediction has left fans hooked as we enter the final hours of the 2024 US presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

In a 2000 episode, Bart to the Future, we see Lisa as the President in the White House telling her team: ‘As you know, we’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.’

And the purple outfit with white perals she is sporting looks alarmingly familiar to one of Harris’ campaign looks.

All this to say, that The Simpsons could have scored yet another correct prediction depending on the outcome of the tense race.

Elsehwere, season 36 is currently airing and has finally answered a decades-long mystery around Homer’s ability to keep his job at the Nuclear Power Plant despite being objectively terrible at it.

In the episode,  Shoddy Heat, we discover that in the 80s, Grandpa Abe Simpson was a dtective with his partner Billy O’Donnell who mysteriously disappeared after they started looking into Mr Burns.

Abe then strikes a deal with Burns that he’ll drop the whole thing if his son is guaranteed a job for life, much to Homer’s delight.

Whether its predictions, theories or solved mysteries, The Simpsons knows how to keep its fanbase on its toes.