I kinda wonder if the Simpsons writers DID know stuff and just deeply encoded it within the show (given the context of that scene plays out entirely different if you remove any innuendo from Hawking) or they just threw SO MANY darts at the wall for SO LONG that their Nostradamus-esque reputation is just the broken clock striking 12 over and over because there are so many clocks
I feel like animation allows for a lot more subtext since you can sidestep the filter the actor puts on it more effectively.
Edit: FWIW I just can't see Hawking being into little kids. I think Epstein provided a lot of adult sex workers as well so going to that island doesn't automatically mean pedo action. But Hawking apparently liked the ladies and parties, I don't think that was a super well kept secret in those circles.