The creators of “South Park” are no strangers to controversy, but their Season 27 premiere might just have lit a fresh fire under Washington. Following a blistering episode that took aim at former President Donald Trump that depicted him, among other things, in bed with Satan, co-creator Trey Parker offered a mock apology during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
A deadpan Parker said, “We’re terribly sorry,” drawing laughter from the crowd. His tone made it abundantly clear that the apology was anything but honest.
The episode, which premiered on Wednesday on Paramount+, wasn’t shy in its satirical assault. Alongside its surreal imagery, it tackled a recent lawsuit involving Trump and CBS, the media’s relationship with the former president, and a swirl of real-life corporate shakeups, including the newly approved merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
A day after the episode aired, the White House didn’t hold back in its response. In a biting statement, spokesperson Taylor Rogers blasted the long-running animated series as “a fourth-rate show.”
“This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.”
Rogers also praised Trump’s track record, claiming, “President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history, and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
Rogers told Rolling Stone Magazine, “The left’s hypocrisy truly has no end.”
“For years, they have come after South Park for what they labeled as ‘offense’ [sic] content, but suddenly they are praising the show. Just like the creators of South Park, the left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows.”
But “South Park,” which has built a legacy on mercilessly skewering political figures and cultural institutions, was undeterred.
In the panel discussion at Comic-Con, joined by Matt Stone, “Beavis and Butt-Head” creator Mike Judge, and “Digman!” Co-creator Andy Samberg, Parker revealed behind-the-scenes tension over how far to push the envelope. One particularly graphic moment prompted feedback from the producers.
“They said, ‘OK, but we’re gonna blur the penis,’ and I said, ‘No, you’re not gonna blur the penis,'” Parker said, smiling.
The episode, titled “Sermon on the ‘Mount,” features Trump suing the fictional town of South Park, only to be met by none other than Jesus himself, who implores the townspeople to settle the case. “You guys saw what happened to CBS… Do you really want to end up like Colbert?” Jesus warns, referencing the cancellation of “The Late Show” after 33 years.
Stephen Colbert, a frequent critic of Trump, has long been a target of the former president’s ire. Shortly before the cancellation of his show, Colbert referred to Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump to resolve a lawsuit over a CBS interview with Kamala Harris as a “big fat bribe.”
“Unlike the payoffs from ABC and Twitter, Paramount’s settlement did not include an apology…Instead, the corporation released a statement where they said, ‘You may take our money, but you will never take our dignity. You may, however, purchase our dignity for the low, low price of $16 million. We need the cash.’ Now, I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles—it’s ‘big, fat bribe,’ because this all comes as Paramount’s owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance.”
Jon Stewart, whose “The Daily Show” airs on Comedy Central, which is owned by Paramount, responded to the show being axed by having a gospel choir lead the studio audience in a repeated “f**k you” chant directed at the company.
The timing of the “South Park” episode follows the newly approved merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, which is poised to reshape the company’s media empire. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the merger just weeks after Paramount Global settled the lawsuit with Trump.
Critics were quick to weigh in on the incendiary episode. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian called it “South Park’s most furious episode ever,” highlighting a tongue-in-cheek narrator who muses: “His penis is teeny tiny, but his love for us is large.”
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall hailed the episode as “glorious,” praising its biting commentary on Trump’s legal vendettas, religious rhetoric in schools, censorship, and the chilling effect lawsuits can have on media criticism. The episode’s title is a play on the name Paramount.
“The episode is unsparing on Paramount, portraying various CBS News reporters as scared to say anything that might antagonize POTUS and invite a lawsuit. It turns out even Christ has only come back to South Park because he was sued, and he’s as unhappy about all the crimes being perpetrated in his name by Trump as everyone else in town.”
Some viewed the episode as a risky move for a show under a corporate parent currently involved in federal regulatory review.
The FCC’s approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger has already faced criticism from Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who questioned whether recent company decisions, including the cancellation of “The Late Show” and the legal settlement with Trump, were made to avoid political scrutiny. In this context, the episode may be read as both a defiant artistic statement and a commentary on corporate compromise.
Speaking about potential legal ramifications, David S. Korzenik, a media lawyer who has written about and taught media law for decades, told Newsweek during a phone interview that it’s improbable.
“There’s no real possibility of any credible legal peril. If there were to be a hypothetical lawsuit against South Park, that would be more just, for show. Any lawsuit against South Park for this would be ridiculous. No one is going to look at that and rely on that as being a statement of fact. They’re going to understand it to be an insult, joking, attacking, or expressing the fears that people have about what could be true or might not be true. And this parody is a highly protected design of American comment.”
Dave Heller, deputy director of the Media Law Resource Center, told Newsweek via email, “U.S. law is extremely protective of satire and parody, including vicious attacks on public figures,” referencing the 1988 case of Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell. The Supreme Court ruled that the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution protect parodies of public officials.
“Court recognized that mockery of political figures, as a weapon of attack, scorn, and ridicule, is part of American culture as far back as George Washington. South Park trades in exactly this tradition. And while it might not be to everyone’s taste, it certainly should be understood and protected as such.”
Ironically, the same week saw “South Park” sign a five-year, $1.5 billion deal with Paramount+, securing 50 new episodes and exclusive streaming rights. The new season will air first on Comedy Central before being released on the streaming service, marking a major win after a fierce bidding war among streaming giants.
Parker hinted they’re not entirely sure what direction future episodes will take, but stated that he and Stone seem ready to follow wherever their irreverent instincts lead.
“I don’t know what next week’s episode is going to be. Even just three days ago, we were like, ‘I don’t know if people are going to like this.'”
Still, the duo remains wary of falling into political parody fatigue. In a 2017 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Parker admitted that constantly skewering Trump became a creative trap.
“We’re becoming: ‘Tune in to see what we’re going to say about Trump.’ Matt and I hated it, but we got stuck in it somehow,” he said, expressing a desire to steer the show back to its roots of “kids being kids and being ridiculous and outrageous.”
But in true “South Park” fashion, when the real world goes off the rails, it’s hard not to follow. And judging by this premiere, Parker and Stone still know how to turn controversy into prime-time chaos.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
