Did 'The Simpsons' Predict Lady Gaga at Super Bowl LI?

Claim:

The Simpsons correctly predicted various incidents that took place during Super Bowl LI.

Rating:

Mixture

About this rating

What's True

At least one scene from an episode of The Simpsons appeared to predict pop star Lady Gaga's halftime show during the 2017 Super Bowl.

What's False

A few images showcasing these "predictions" from The Simpsons were either doctored or came from unrelated episodes.

On 5 February 2017, rumors appeared that the popular animated television series "The Simpsons" had once predicted Lady Gaga's halftime performance at Super Bowl LI, comparing a scene on the animated show to her descent to the stage on the field to kick off her show:

In this case, the series was gently mocking Lady Gaga's visually arresting (and occasionally outlandish) stunts during concerts (the singer performed a similar one in 2011, when she ziplined into a concert on "Good Morning America") and showed the singer in several outfits similar to ones she had already worn:

The cowboy hat in the bottom right corner of the graphic did not come from the  same episode of "The Simpsons," but in one from 2005 called "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" in which characters Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders planned a Super Bowl halftime show. The cowboy hat image is real, as are the fireworks — but but fireworks were invented long before they appeared on that 2005 episode.

Additionally, Lady Gaga's show did not feature a giant cowboy hat, and the lights display at Super Bowl LI was created with drones (filmed earlier in the week) rather than fireworks.

One last rumor that circulated after the 2017 Super Bowl was that "The Simpsons" actually predicted the game's final score:

This is a doctored image. The real scene did not show the Atlanta Falcons or the New England Patriots on the scoreboard, and did not show the final score at 34 to 28. The real imageis from season 28's episode "The Town":

As spooky as the predictions may seem at first glance, a closer look shows that it they are actually nothing more than a combination of digital manipulation, wishful thinking, and keen observations.