South Park controversies

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In the United States, South Park is mainly rated TV-MA. To note, some episodes in syndication have been reclassified TV-14. However, starting in 2017, uncut airings of South Park on Comedy Central have been receiving a TV-14-DLSV rating, mainly from the first 20 seasons. Episodes from season 22-onwards, as well as particularly offensive episodes (i.e., "Bloody Mary", "Trapped in the Closet"), still carry the TV-MA rating.

In Australia, the first three seasons, and some episodes in season 4, were rated M: Recommended for mature audiences 15 years and over. The M rating is unrestricted and moderate in impact, and it is equivalent to America's TV-14 rating. The latter seasons are rated MA15+, which is a rating restricted for people 15 years and older unless accompanied by adult, and is strong in impact. Despite being rated M on television, the season 3 DVD set was the first season to receive an MA15+ rating. The consumer advice usually goes as follows; Adult themes (A), coarse language (L), sexual references (S) and/or animated violence (V). Depending on the rating, the terms "moderate" and "strong" precede these descriptions.

The video game, South Park: The Stick of Truth, was initially banned. Due to backlash, however, a censored version would be released for Australia along with Israel and Europe, receiving an R18+ rating, much like the other video games based on the series. One scene and one minigame were banned in the Australian release. The banned scene featured a character (the show's protagonists are depicted as primary school children) surrounded by aliens, being probed with a so-called 'anal probe' in the shape of a penis. Additionally, the scene was interactive. The scene was classified as 'child sexual abuse' and banned twice. The banned minigame was also interactive and instructed the player to perform abortion on Randy Marsh. South Australia was the last state to decriminalize abortion, doing so on January 1, 2021.

In the United Kingdom, the show is generally rated 15, until season 7 when it gets an 18 rating due to the audio commentaries (the episodes are only rated 15). However, some episodes, such as those in the first four seasons, do have a 12 rating (Cartman Gets an Anal Probe). Furthermore, the season 3 DVD set was originally rated 18 in the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland, due to references to child molestation in the final episode, World Wide Recorder Concert. It was re-rated 15 in the United Kingdom upon its re-release in 2008, although in Ireland it is still rated 18, as are a number of episodes in the latter seasons. Later in the series, season 20 was rated 18 due to strong sex references, and season 22 was also rated 18 for child sexual abuse references.

In Canada, the VHS/DVD sets were originally rated 18A, but later re-rated to a 14A rating. On Canadian streaming services such as CraveTV, it carries an 18+ rating for violence (V), strong language (L), sex (S), nudity (N) and mature themes (M).

Season 4 and Season 16 are the only seasons rated R13 in New Zealand and the first season is rated M, akin to Australia's rating. The rest of the seasons have an R16 rating. The television rating of the show in New Zealand is AO (adults only).

In Spain, the show is rated 13 (years and above).{{Cite web|date=March 29, 2011|title='South Park', ¿para mayores de 18?|url=https://www.laverdad.es/murcia/v/20110329/gente/south-park-para-mayores-20110329.html|access-date=January 2, 2022|website=La Verdad|language=es-ES|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116225034/https://www.laverdad.es/murcia/v/20110329/gente/south-park-para-mayores-20110329.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Telecinco defiende que 'South Park' se emite en un horario permitido por la ley|url=https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/18960/telecinco-defiende-south-park-emite-horario-protegido-ley/|access-date=January 2, 2022|website=FormulaTV|date=March 25, 2011 |language=es|archive-date=January 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102162127/https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/18960/telecinco-defiende-south-park-emite-horario-protegido-ley/|url-status=live}}

South Park was banned in India in 2010. According to VH1 India's channel head Ferzad Palia, after being reviewed by the Indian Ministry of Broadcasting, the show was banned for its vulgarity.{{Cite news |last=Menon |first=Serena |date=2010-06-22 |title=South Park in India shuts, runs into trouble in US too |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/television/south-park-in-india-shuts-runs-into-trouble-in-us-too/article1-561421.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031151704/http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/television/south-park-in-india-shuts-runs-into-trouble-in-us-too/article1-561421.aspx |archive-date=2014-10-31 |access-date=2023-07-19 |publisher=Hindustan Times}} However, in 2019, South Park was added to Netflix India, where it is rated 18+ for strong language and nudity.{{Cite web|title=Is South Park: Season 22 (2018) on Netflix India?|url=https://whatsnewonnetflix.com/india/1832387/south-park-2017|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=whatsnewonnetflix.com|archive-date=June 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622215730/https://whatsnewonnetflix.com/india/1832387/south-park-2017|url-status=live}}

As the series first became popular in the United States, several schools punished students for wearing T-shirts related to the series, while a group of school principals in New Jersey mounted a small campaign to notify parents of the show's content. Hickory Flat Elementary School in Cherokee County, Georgia, issued a ban on wearing any South Park clothing.{{cite web|url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/27699.html|title=Goin' Down to South Park: How kids can learn from 'vile trash'|date=May 2000|publisher=www.reason.com|access-date=May 22, 2009|last=Fagin|first=Barry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513180033/http://reason.com/news/show/27699.html|archive-date=May 13, 2009|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-04-25-9804250113-story.html|title=TO SCHOOLS, 'PARK' ISN'T KIDS' STUFF|first1=Jeremy|last1=Manier|first2=Carolyn|last2=Starks|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=April 25, 1998|access-date=March 13, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613045840/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-04-25-9804250113-story.html|url-status=live}} In a 1999 poll conducted by NatWest Bank, eight and nine-year-old children in the United Kingdom voted the show's character Eric Cartman their favorite personality. This drew the concern of several parent councils, who were expecting that a children's television show character would top the list, and the headmaster of a Cambridgeshire public school urged parents to prevent their children from watching the show.{{cite news | title = Cartman top with kids | publisher = BBC | date = August 26, 1999 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/entertainment/430977.stm | access-date = May 9, 2009 | archive-date = February 13, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210213052216/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/430977.stm | url-status = live }} While not opposed to allowing kids to watch the show, Parker and Stone, did however assert that the show is not meant to be viewed by kids, and it is almost always rated TV-MA, while being accompanied by the following warning: "All characters and events in this show—even those based on real people—are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated... poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone."

Conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III, founder of the advocacy group Parents Television Council (PTC), has frequently criticized the show. Calling it "sordid" and "filth",{{cite book|last=Johnson-Woods|first=Toni|title=Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture|place=New York|publisher=Continuum|year=2007|isbn=9780826417305|oclc=260117744|page=31}} Bozell said it "shouldn't have been made".{{cite news|author = Frank Rich|title = Conservatives ♥ 'South Park'|work = The New York Times|date = May 1, 2005|url = https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html|access-date = June 21, 2020|archive-date = June 22, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200622184531/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html|url-status = live}}

Action for Children's Television founder Peggy Charren claimed that the show's use of language and racial slurs represents the depravity of Western civilization, and that it is "dangerous to the democracy".{{cite news|author=David Horowitz |title=Why Gore would censor "South Park" |work=Salon.com |date=July 19, 1999 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/col/horo/1999/07/19/south_park/index2.html |access-date=May 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121035850/http://www.salon.com/news/col/horo/1999/07/19/south_park/index2.html |archive-date=November 21, 2009 }}

Several other Christian activist groups have protested the show's parodies of Christianity-related matter and portrayal of Jesus Christ—whom South Park has depicted blaspheming, shooting and stabbing other characters, and as unable to perform actual miracles. The Christian Family Network prepared an educational guide on how to "protect youth from vile trash like South Park", and claims that their efforts to "restore morality, and protect life for the individual, family, and community" would be impeded if children watched the series.

Stone insists that "[kids] don't have any kind of social tact or etiquette", and claims that parents who disapprove of South Park for its portrayal of how kids behave are upset because they "have an idyllic vision of what kids are like".

Several groups have called for a boycott of the show, its sponsors, and the networks that air it. For example, in late 2008, on behalf of Muslim activists and members of the Russian Pentecostalist Church, a group of prosecutors in Moscow sought to have the Russian channel 2×2 closed in an attempt to prevent them from broadcasting the series, which they claimed promoted "hatred between religions". Their appeal was rejected by Russian media officials, and the channel's broadcasting license was extended until 2013.{{cite news|first=Nick|last=Holdsworth|url=https://variety.com/2008/digital/news/russia-s-2x2-wins-license-renewal-1117994318/|title=Russia's 2X2 wins license renewal|work=Variety|date=2008-10-20|access-date=2008-11-20|archive-date=2008-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026193957/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994318.html?categoryid=1050&cs=1|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL869731820080908?sp=true|title=Bid to ban 'extremist' U.S. cartoon|location=U.S.|work=Reuters|date=September 8, 2008|publisher=www.reuters.com|access-date=May 28, 2009|last=Baldwin|first=Chris|archive-date=October 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005120741/http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL869731820080908?sp=true|url-status=live}} Aside from the efforts in Russia, no group or individual in a country where the show is aired has mounted a significant campaign to ban the series and its availability on home media entirely.{{cite news | author = Lawrie Mifflin | title = TV Stretches Limits of Taste, to Little Outcry | work = The New York Times | date = April 6, 1998 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/arts/tv-stretches-limits-of-taste-to-little-outcry.html?pagewanted=2 | access-date = May 9, 2009 | archive-date = May 13, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110513030707/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/arts/tv-stretches-limits-of-taste-to-little-outcry.html?pagewanted=2 | url-status = live }}{{cite news| author = Devin Leonard| title = 'South Park' creators haven't lost their edge| publisher = CNN| date = October 27, 2006| url = https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391792/index.htm| access-date = May 3, 2009| archive-date = November 7, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131107220939/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391792/index.htm| url-status = live}}

A Canadian judge in the Calgary Judicial District has described South Park as a "vulgar, socially irreverent program that contributes nothing to society".{{Cite news |date=2009-05-08 |title=Judge slams 'vulgar' South Park for 'Kick a Ginger Day' attacks |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/judge-slams-vulgar-south-park-for-kick-a-ginger-day-attacks-1.791366 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-07-19 |publisher=CBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116225050/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/judge-slams-vulgar-south-park-for-kick-a-ginger-day-attacks-1.791366 |archive-date=2023-01-16}}

Critics have also panned the show for being "preachy". In The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!, the film adaptation of another Comedy Central animated series, Drawn Together, South Park was criticized for its sense of humor and use of social commentary. The show was also parodied in The Simpsons episode "The Bart of War".

These protests actually inspired the plotline of the show's 1999 film adaptation.

The show further lampooned the controversy surrounding its use of profanity, as well as the media attention surrounding the network show Chicago Hope's single use of the word "shit", with the season five premiere "It Hits the Fan".{{cite web|url=http://www.thehoya.com/node/947|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070812212625/http://www.thehoya.com/node/947|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 12, 2007|

title=Laughing at a Nation |date=February 25, 2005|publisher=www.thehoya.com|access-date=May 22, 2009|last=Josaphat|first=Chenel}}{{cite web|url=http://www.miamipoetryreview.com/2006/07/south-park-insight200706.html|title=Why South Park Is The Most Liberated Show On Television|date=2006-07-20|publisher=www.miamipoetryreview.com|access-date=2009-05-22|last=Warren |first=Mitchell|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013113107/http://www.miamipoetryreview.com/2006/07/south-park-insight200706.html|archive-date=October 13, 2009}} A counter superimposed on the bottom left corner of the screen tracked each of the episode's utterances of the word "shit", which was said 162 times without being bleeped, while also appearing uncensored in written form 32 times, totaling 194 times used.{{cite web|url=http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2001-07-26/culture/it-happens/1|title=It Happens|date=July 26, 2001|publisher=www.browardpalmbeach.com|access-date=May 22, 2009|last=Wilonsky|first=Robert|archive-date=July 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708101559/http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2001-07-26/culture/it-happens/1/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|author=Ali Asadullah |title=Contemporary Cartoon Conjures Racist Past |publisher=IslamOnline.net |date=November 15, 2001 |url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658390218&pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout |access-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317003250/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658390218&pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout |archive-date=March 17, 2007 }} The backlash to the episode was mostly limited to 5,000 disapproving e-mails sent to Comedy Central.{{cite interview|url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |title=Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript |access-date=February 8, 2007 |date=March 1, 2002 |subject=Trey Parker |subject2=Matt Stone |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209001855/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |archive-date=February 9, 2010 }}

The PTC also criticized the show for its excessive use of the racial epithet "nigger" in the season 11 (2007) premiere "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson".{{cite web|last=Bozell|first=L. Brent III|author-link=L. Brent Bozell III|title=The Incomplete Anti-Imus Lobby|url=http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/lbbcolumns/2007/0412.asp |work=MediaResearch.org|publisher=Creators Syndicate|date=April 12, 2007|access-date=April 16, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070519095058/http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/lbbcolumns/2007/0412.asp |archive-date = May 19, 2007}} Despite its 43 uncensored uses of the word, the episode generated relatively little other controversy, as most in the black community{{Who|date=March 2021}} and the NAACP praised the episode for its context and its comedic way of conveying other races' perceptions of how black people feel when hearing the word.{{cite news | author = Vanessa E. Jones | title = No offense, but ... | newspaper = The Boston Globe | date = January 29, 2008 | url = https://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/01/29/no_offense_but_/ | access-date = May 3, 2009 | archive-date = June 14, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090614061311/http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/01/29/no_offense_but_/ | url-status = live }}[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/08/pzn.01.html Transcript of "Paula Zahn Now" from 8 March, 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629031600/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/08/pzn.01.html |date=June 29, 2011 }}. CNN. Retrieved April 14, 2007.{{Failed verification|date=March 2021}} While some in the Jewish community have praised the show's depiction of the character Eric Cartman holding an anti-Semitic attitude towards fellow student Kyle Broflovski as a means of accurately portraying what it is like for a young Jewish person to have to endure bigotry as an ethnic minority,{{cite news | author = Robert Bolton | title = The Media Report: South Park | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = July 23, 1998 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/mstories/mr980723.htm | access-date = May 5, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050311041603/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/mstories/mr980723.htm | archive-date = March 11, 2005 | url-status = dead }} other Jewish people have blamed South Park and Cartman for having found themselves surrounded by "acceptable racism".{{cite news | author = David Margolis | title = Anti-Semitism in the playground | newspaper = independent.co.uk | date = February 1, 1999 | url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/antisemitism-in-the-playground-1067983.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/antisemitism-in-the-playground-1067983.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | access-date = May 9, 2009 | location=London}}

{{main|Trapped in the Closet (South Park)}}

South Park parodied Scientology in a short that aired as part of the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. The short was titled "The Gauntlet" and also poked fun at John Travolta, a Scientologist.{{cite news|last=Ortega|first=Tony|title=Sympathy For The Devil: Tory Bezazian was a veteran Scientologist who loved going after church critics. Until she met the darkest detractor of all.|work=New Times Los Angeles|date=September 27, 2001|url=https://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/tory/20010927-newtimesla.html}}{{cite news|last=South Park|author-link=South Park|title=Battlefield Earth Spoof – "The Gauntlet"|work=MTV Movie Awards|publisher=MTV, Comedy Central|date=June 8, 2006}} The season five (2001) episode "Super Best Friends" features illusionist David Blaine forming his own cult, called "Blaintology".{{cite news|last=de Moraes|first=Lisa|title=Comedy Central Again Steals 'South Park' Thunder|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=C01|date=April 14, 2006|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041302212.html?nav=rss_print%2Fstyle|access-date=October 21, 2007|archive-date=November 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107113539/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041302212.html?nav=rss_print%2Fstyle|url-status=live}} Parker and Stone have acknowledged that this is meant to be a reference to Scientology.Episode Commentary on South Park: Season 5 DVD boxset.

In the season nine (2005) episode "Trapped in the Closet", Stan Marsh is recognized as the reincarnation of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard before denouncing the church as nothing more than "a big fat global scam". Tom Cruise, also a Scientologist, is seen in the episode locking himself in Stan's closet and refusing to come out, as other characters ambiguously plead for him to "come out of the closet" in a parody of rumors involving Cruise's sexuality.{{cite news|url=http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20051206.html|title=Could Tom Cruise Sue "South Park" For Suggesting He is Gay? And Even If He Could, Should He?|access-date=August 16, 2006|last=Hilden|first=Julie|date=December 6, 2005|work=FindLaw|archive-date=August 13, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813100656/http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20051206.html|url-status=live}} One scene retold the story of Xenu, a story Scientology normally attempts to keep confidential and only reveals to members once they make significant monetary contributions to the church.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/9363363/inside_scientology/|title=Inside Scientology|date=February 22, 2006|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 25, 2009|last=Reitman|first=Janet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513044651/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/9363363/inside_scientology/|archive-date=May 13, 2008|url-status=dead}} The show's closing credits billed every member of the episode's cast and crew as "John Smith" and "Jane Smith" in a parody of both Cruise's and the church's reputations for litigiousness.{{cite news|url=https://www.tmz.com/2006/07/06/south-park-cruises-to-the-emmys/|title="South Park" Cruises to the Emmys|access-date=August 16, 2006|author=TMZ Staff|date=July 6, 2006|publisher=TMZ.com|archive-date=August 10, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810205525/http://www.tmz.com/2006/07/06/south-park-cruises-to-the-emmys/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Chonin|first=Neva|title=Cruise Control|work=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=2006 Hearst Communications Inc.|date=2006-03-26|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2006%2F03%2F26%2FPKGU9GIP131.DTL|access-date=2007-10-20|archive-date=2007-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012154144/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2006%2F03%2F26%2FPKGU9GIP131.DTL|url-status=live}}

{{Wikinews|Isaac Hayes quits South Park over Scientology episode}}

On March 13, 2006, nearly two months after having a stroke,{{Cite web|date=2006-10-27 |title=Hayes has put stroke, 'South Park' behind him |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/MYSA102706_WK_hayes_1db37cb_html7971.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720002541/http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/MYSA102706_WK_hayes_1db37cb_html7971.html |archive-date=2009-07-20 |access-date=2023-07-19 |work=MySanAntonio.com}} Isaac Hayes, the voice of the character Chef, quit South Park. The character was subsequently killed off in the episode "The Return of Chef", which aired two years before Hayes' own death. A press release cited his objections to the show's attitudes toward and depiction of various religions. While the press release did not specifically mention "Trapped in the Closet", Parker and Stone assert that he quit because of the episode and its treatment of Scientology, as Hayes was a member. Stone commented that Hayes practiced a double standard regarding the treatment of religion on South Park: "[We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we [lampooned] Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin".{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/03/13/entertainment/e133318S62.DTL |publisher=The San Francisco Chronicle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210230645/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fnews%2Farchive%2F2006%2F03%2F13%2Fentertainment%2Fe133318S62.DTL |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |title=Isaac Hayes Quits 'South Park,' }} Fox News suggested that, because he was still suffering from the effects of his stroke, Hayes was hospitalized and not in a position to make a rational decision to leave the show. Fox also reported that Hayes left the show because of pressure from fellow Scientologists and that the decision was not voluntary, noting that Hayes had previously defended the episode after an amicable discussion with Parker and Stone about its content. Moreover, the original press release announcing his departure was put out by someone not authorized to represent him.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/chefs-quitting-controversy|publisher=Fox News|author=Roger Friedman|date=2006-03-20|title=Chef's Quitting Controversy|access-date=2009-05-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016174852/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188463,00.html|archive-date=October 16, 2006|url-status=live}} In a 2016 oral history of South Park in The Hollywood Reporter, Hayes's son, Isaac Hayes III, confirmed that the decision to leave the show was made by Hayes's entourage while Hayes was unable to make such decisions on his own.{{cite news|last1=Parker|first1=Ryan|title=Holy Shit, 'South Park' Is 20! Trey Parker, Matt Stone on Censors, Tom Cruise and Scientology's Role in Isaac Hayes Quitting|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/south-park-20-years-history-trey-parker-matt-stone-928212|access-date=September 15, 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 14, 2016|archive-date=September 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914230950/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/south-park-20-years-history-trey-parker-matt-stone-928212|url-status=live}}

"Trapped in the Closet" was scheduled to rebroadcast on March 15, 2006, on Comedy Central, but the broadcast was canceled without prior notice and was replaced with a repeat of the season two (1998) episode "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls". The controversy that soon followed was dubbed "Closetgate" by the Los Angeles Times.{{cite news|last=Collins|first=Scott|title=CHANNEL ISLAND; Clamor outside 'South Park' closet; 'Mission: Impossible' studio joins Cruise's camp in denying it strong-armed scrapping of Scientology repeat.|work=Los Angeles Times|page=Calendar Desk; Part E;16|date=March 18, 2006}} Representatives of Comedy Central insist that the episode was changed as a tribute to Hayes following his departure.{{cite news|url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-southparkscientologyepisodepulled,0,4332947.story |title=Did 'South Park' Get Cruised? |publisher=Zap2it |date=March 17, 2006 |access-date=June 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060322102840/http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-southparkscientologyepisodepulled%2C0%2C4332947.story |archive-date=March 22, 2006 }}{{cite news|title=Cruise Control Scares 'Park'|newspaper=New York Post|date=March 17, 2006}} Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom, also owns Paramount Pictures, which was set to distribute the then-upcoming film Mission: Impossible III, which stars Cruise. Several media outlets alleged that Cruise threatened to boycott the publicity tour for the film unless Viacom canceled the episode's rebroadcast.{{cite news|last=Ebner|first=Mark|title=Scientologist Tom Cruise Blackmails Viacom into Pulling the "Trapped in the Closet" Episode of South Park|work=Hollywood, Interrupted site.|publisher=Rudius Media|date=March 16, 2006|url=http://www.hollywoodinterrupted.com/archives/scientologist_tom_cruise_blackmails_viacom.phtml|access-date=May 28, 2009|archive-date=March 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305013632/http://www.hollywoodinterrupted.com/archives/scientologist_tom_cruise_blackmails_viacom.phtml|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Friedman|first=Roger|title=Cruise Ambushed by 'Broke' Studio?|work=Fox News|date=August 23, 2006|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,209943,00.html|access-date=May 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113160928/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,209943,00.html|archive-date=November 13, 2007|url-status=dead}} Comedy Central, as well as Cruise's representative and publicist, immediately denied the allegations.{{cite news|last=Carlson|first=Erin|title='South Park'-Scientology battle rages|agency=Associated Press|publisher=The Associated Press|date=March 17, 2006|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-03-17-south-park-scientology_x.htm|access-date=March 13, 2008|archive-date=March 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328010457/http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-03-17-south-park-scientology_x.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=de Moraes|first=Lisa|title=Everyone's in a Stew Over 'South Park' Chef|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=The Washington Post Co.|date=March 18, 2006|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031702158.html|access-date=March 13, 2008|archive-date=November 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107113544/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031702158.html|url-status=live}} Cruise himself later said that he would not "dignify" the rumors by personally addressing whether or not they were true.{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Cruise_No_Oprah_Regrets/3491532 |title=Cruise: 'No Oprah Regrets' |publisher=hollywood.com |date=April 16, 2006 |access-date=June 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120915190646/http://www.hollywood.com/news/Cruise_No_Oprah_Regrets/3491532 |archive-date=September 15, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

In response to the episode being pulled, Parker and Stone issued the following statement, with several mocking references to Scientology:

{{Blockquote|So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/inside-move-south-park-feeling-some-celeb-heat-1117939918/|title=Inside Move: 'South Park' feeling some celeb heat?|magazine=Variety|access-date=2007-11-06|first=Michael|last=Fleming|date=2006-03-17|archive-date=2012-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422192038/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117939918?categoryid=14&cs=1|url-status=live}}}}

Mission: Impossible III was released on May 5, 2006, while "Trapped in the Closet" was rebroadcast without controversy on July 19, 2006. Stone stated that he and Parker would have threatened to end their relationship with Comedy Central had the network finally refused to rebroadcast the episode.{{cite news|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/718/718226p1.html|title=South Park "Trapped in the Closet" Episode to Air Again|publisher=tv.ign.com|access-date=November 4, 2006|archive-date=August 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822093006/http://tv.ign.com/articles/718/718226p1.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Staff |agency=Associated Press |title='South Park' Scientology episode set to rerun: Show that pokes fun at Tom Cruise was abruptly pulled back in March |work=Today.com |publisher=NBC |date=September 12, 2006 |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/south-park-scientology-episode-set-rerun-wbna13834457 |access-date=March 16, 2007 |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925142217/https://www.today.com/popculture/south-park-scientology-episode-set-rerun-wbna13834457 |url-status=live }} The episode was nominated for an Emmy,Scott Collins. [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-channel18mar18,0,2690713.story "Clamor Outside South Park Closet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060411035827/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-channel18mar18,0,2690713.story |date=April 11, 2006 }}, LA Times, March 18, 2006.David Usborne. [http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article352197.ece South Park declares war on Tom Cruise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224043328/http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article352197.ece |date=February 24, 2007 }}. The Independent. March 19, 2006. and is included on South Park's 10th Anniversary DVD, called South Park – The Hits, Volume 1, and is the favorite episode of April Stewart, one of the show's voice actors.

{{main|All About Mormons}}

Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun highlighted the episode "All About Mormons" among "Top Choice" picks in television.{{cite news|last=Adams|first=Cameron|title=Television|work=Herald Sun|page=87|date=December 29, 2003}} Chris Quinn of the San Antonio Express-News placed the episode at number 7 on his list of: "Top 10 Most Offensive South Park Episodes and Therefore, Maybe The Best, List".{{cite news|last=Quinn|first=Chris|title=Not Necessarily A Critic: South Park re-elected by a landslide for four more years|work=San Antonio Express-News|page=6T|date=September 5, 2007}} The episode was used as an exhibit in discussing Mormonism in popular culture, by Utah Valley State College religious studies professor Dennis Potter, in a presentation titled: "The Americanization of Mormonism Reflected in Pop Culture".{{cite news|last=Stack|first=Peggy Fletcher|author-link=Peggy Fletcher Stack|title=Once-radical Mormons move to mainstream|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=August 10, 2006|url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4163756&itype=NGPSID|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601093713/https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4163756&itype=NGPSID|archive-date=June 1, 2023|url-status=live}} The LDS Church called the episode a gross portrayal of Church history, but contended that "it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to [the] church", and that such portrayals are distractions.{{cite news|last=Official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|title=The Publicity Dilemma|work=Newsroom|publisher=Intellectual Reserve, Inc.|date=March 9, 2009|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma|access-date=March 12, 2009|archive-date=July 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709164726/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma|url-status=live}}

{{main|Bloody Mary (South Park)}}

{{Wikinews|35 South Park complaints not upheld, New Zealand}}

Several Roman Catholics took offense at the season nine (2005) finale "Bloody Mary".{{cite magazine

|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9519810/park_life?rnd=1143245769446&has-player=true

|title=Park Life|date=2006-03-24|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2009-05-02|last=Hancock

|first=Noelle}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In the episode, a statue of the Virgin Mary is portrayed as releasing copious amounts of actual blood while undergoing overt menstruation; characters had declared the phenomenon a miracle when they initially thought the blood was flowing from her rectum. Another scene features Pope Benedict XVI closely inspecting the anal and vaginal regions of the statue and being sprayed with blood. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights demanded an apology from Comedy Central and unsuccessfully campaigned to have the episode both removed permanently from the network's rotation and never be made available on DVD.

{{cite press release|title=Virgin Mary defiled on "South Park"|publisher=Catholic League (U.S.)|date=December 8, 2005|url=http://www.catholicleague.org/05press_releases/quarter%204/051208_south_park.htm |access-date=July 6, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718164613/http://www.catholicleague.org/05press_releases/quarter%204/051208_south_park.htm|archive-date=July 18, 2007 }} Viacom board member Joseph A. Califano Jr. and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued formal complaints with then-Viacom CEO Tom Freston.{{cite news|url=http://www.cathnews.com/news/512/119.php |title=Bishops' president blasts South Park episode |date=December 21, 2005 |publisher=Church Resources |access-date=July 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626232709/http://www.cathnews.com/news/512/119.php |archive-date=June 26, 2006 }}

In February 2006, leaders of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Council of Christians and Muslims, and other religious groups together lobbied media conglomerate CanWest to stop the episode's debut airing and potential rebroadcasts in New Zealand on the music channel C4. The network rejected the catholic plea of censorship, and was allowed to air the episode, doing so ahead of schedule to take advantage of the media attention surrounding the campaign.{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3570043a1869,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070103014218/http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3570043a1869,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-01-03|title=South Park controversy continues|date=2006-02-13|author=Kristian South|publisher=Sunday News|access-date=2006-07-06}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=100&ObjectID=10369212|title=TV chief rejects bishops' boycott call over 'tasteless' cartoon|date=2006-02-20|author=Martin Johnston|author2=Errol Kiong |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald|access-date=2006-07-06}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10369285|title=Readers' Views: South Park|date=2006-02-21|work=The New Zealand Herald|access-date=2009-05-25|archive-date=2012-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020163048/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10369285|url-status=live}}

{{main|Super Best Friends|Cartoon Wars Part I|Cartoon Wars Part II|200 (South Park)|201 (South Park)}}

{{See also|Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Everybody Draw Mohammed Day}}

The season 10 episodes "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II" feature a plot in which the Fox network plans to air an episode of the animated show Family Guy that contains an uncensored cartoon depiction of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Residents of South Park panic, fearing violent responses similar to those that occurred worldwide after some Muslims regarded cartoon depictions of Muhammad in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten as insulting. The first episode had a cliffhanger ending instructing viewers to watch part two to find out whether the image of Muhammad would be shown uncensored. In the second episode, Kyle persuades a Fox executive to air the Family Guy episode with the image uncensored, while echoing Parker and Stone's sentiments regarding what should or should not be censored of "[either] it's got to all be OK or none of it is". Within the universe of the episode, the Family Guy episode is aired uncensored, despite a retaliation threat from Al-Qaeda. When the episode aired on Comedy Central, the channel censored the scene with a title card reading "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network" instead of the scene containing Muhammad's depiction, which Parker and Stone say was neutral and not intended to insult Muslims.

Parker and Stone note the contradiction in being allowed to feature a profane depiction of Jesus, while being forbidden to feature a purely benign depiction of Muhammad, but claim they harbor no hard feelings toward Comedy Central for censoring the scene, since the network confessed to being "afraid of getting blown up" rather than claim "religious tolerance" like other networks. Parker and Stone claim the only regrets they have over the incident was that their mocking of the show Family Guy in the episode generated more attention than its commentary on the ethics of censorship.{{cite magazine|author=Jaime J. Weinman |title=South Park grows up |magazine=Maclean's |date=March 12, 2008 |url=http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=2 |access-date=April 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802210052/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=2 |archive-date=August 2, 2009 }} Previously, Muhammad was depicted uncensored and portrayed in a heroic light in the season five (2001) episode "Super Best Friends", which resulted in virtually no controversy. Muhammad also appears among the large crowd of characters gathered behind the main characters and "South Park" sign in some of the show's previous opening sequences.{{cite web|title= South Park's been showing Muhammad all season!|url= http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/04/15/south-parks-been-showing-muhammad-all-season|author= Ryan J. Budke|date= April 15, 2006|publisher= TVSquad.com|access-date= May 25, 2009|archive-date= May 2, 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110502033153/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/04/15/south-parks-been-showing-muhammad-all-season/|url-status= live}}

Parker and Stone repeated this plot for the 200th episode, "200". Again, the depiction was censored throughout the episode. After the episode aired, a leader of Revolution Muslim, an obscure New York-based radical Muslim organization, targeted South Park{{'}}s creators for satirizing issues surrounding the depiction of Muhammad. The author of the post, Zachary Adam ChesserAnti-Defamation League: [http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/abu_talhah.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_1 "Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee: An Extensive Online Footprint"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807102736/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/abu_talhah.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_1 |date=August 7, 2010 }} April 22, 2010 who went by the username Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, wrote on Twitter that he prayed for Allah to kill the show's creators and "burn them in Hell for all eternity".Anti-Defamation League: [http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/revolution_muslim.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_1 "Backgrounder: Revolution Muslim"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203095005/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/revolution_muslim.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_1 |date=December 3, 2010 }} April 22, 2010 He also posted a similar entry on his blog and on the Revolution Muslim website. The post included a picture of the assassination of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Muslim extremist in 2004, with the caption: "Theo Van Gogh – Have Matt Stone And Trey Parker Forgotten This?" He also noted: "We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

Following the airing of this episode, Malaysia's conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) demanded that the makers of South Park apologize to Muslims around the world for its portrayal of Muhammad dressed as a bear, though it was later shown that it was actually Santa inside the suit. "Even though they have added the audio bleeps, South Park{{'}}s producer and broadcaster should apologize to the Muslims, as this is a sensitive issue", said PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar. "The show itself spells of bad intention, and the depiction of the Prophet is provocative. It creates religious tension.""[http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/Malaysian_Islamists_want_apology_from_South_Park_P108414/ Malaysian Islamists want apology from "South Park" ] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120708011903/http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/Malaysian_Islamists_want_apology_from_South_Park_P108414/ |date=2012-07-08 }}". forum.bcdb.com, April 25, 2010

The following episode, "201", censored the word "Muhammad" throughout the episode, as well as several lines from the "Super Best Friends" during the final act. According to the South Park Studios webpage, episode "201" was censored by Comedy Central after the studio delivered the episode, but before it was aired. The studio advises that the episode is not available online because they do not have network clearance to air the uncensored episode. A user on the imageboard website 4chan later discovered a partially uncensored version of the episode on the official website's RTMP web server, and it has since been distributed across the Internet.{{Citation|title=201 (South Park)|date=August 1, 2019|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=201_(South_Park)&oldid=908917051|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=August 11, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116225036/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=201_%28South_Park%29&oldid=908917051|url-status=live}}

Due to the controversies, the episode "201" was removed from the British Comedy Central television schedule, and replaced with a repeat of "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs", and the repeat of "200" was replaced with a repeat of "Sexual Healing". The episode "Super Best Friends", previously available via the South Park Studios website has been made unavailable. Additionally, the Netflix streaming version of the episode, also previously available, has been changed to "Disc Only".{{cite magazine | url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/04/puss-tv-update-2.html | author=Andrew Sullivan | title=Puss TV Update – The Daily Dish | date=April 24, 2010 | access-date=April 24, 2010 | magazine=The Atlantic | archive-date=January 29, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129134512/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/04/puss-tv-update-2.html | url-status=dead }} "Super Best Friends" was also removed from the iTunes Store as well as the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. When the series was added to HBO Max, "Super Best Friends", both parts of "Cartoon Wars", "200", and "201" were all skipped over.

Despite the controversies, "200" and "201" are available on the region 1 release of South Park – The Complete Fourteenth Season disc. The episodes were censored and so were the commentaries regarding the episodes. The regions 2 and 4 releases of South Park – The Complete Fourteenth Season had both "200" and "201" removed for undisclosed reasons, despite the packaging claiming that all fourteen episodes are included in the set.

In the chalkboard gag of The Simpsons episode, "The Squirt and the Whale", Bart pokes fun at the death threats Parker and Stone received by writing "South Park, We'd Stand Beside You If We Weren't So Scared."

{{main|Hell on Earth 2006}}

Several viewers criticized the season 10 (2006) episode "Hell on Earth 2006" for its depiction of Steve Irwin with a stingray stuck in his chest.{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/how-kenny-survived-10-years-of-south-park-68126.html|title=How Kenny survived 10 years of South Park|date=November 10, 2006|publisher=www.independent.ie|access-date=May 22, 2009|last=O'Doherty|first=Ian|archive-date=September 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905143644/http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/how-kenny-survived-10-years-of-south-park-68126.html|url-status=live}}

The episode originally aired seven weeks after Irwin, an internationally popular Australian television personality and wildlife expert, died when his heart was pierced by a stingray barb. Several groups and even devout fans of the show derided the scene and its timing as "grossly insensitive" and "classless", while Irwin's widow Terri Irwin expressed concern that her children could one day see the episode.{{cite news|title=To hell with Irwin, says South Park|newspaper=The Herald Sun|author1=Kent, Paul|author2=Gee, Steve|name-list-style=amp|date=October 28, 2006|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20658735-661,00.html|access-date=January 9, 2009|archive-date=May 26, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526213018/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/to-hell-with-irwin-says-south-park/story-e6frf7jo-1111112431480|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6093802.stm|title=South Park defends Irwin sketch|work=BBC News|author=Staff|date=October 28, 2006|access-date=January 9, 2009|archive-date=February 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203174649/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6093802.stm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=24176|title=Steve Irwin's Wife "Devastated" By South Park Lampooning|publisher=Entertainment Wise|author=Taylor, Chris|date=October 29, 2006|access-date=March 26, 2007|archive-date=July 31, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731/http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=24176|url-status=live}}

{{main|Pinewood Derby (South Park)}}

In the 2009 episode "Pinewood Derby" several world leaders were depicted, including Mexican President Felipe Calderón, failing to successfully deal with an international crisis. MTV withdrew the episode in Mexico, causing controversy amongst Mexico's South Park fans, who felt it was censorship; MTV denied this, claiming they had just failed to get permission in time to show the Mexican flag on television.{{cite news|title=MTV under fire as it pulls South Park episode in Mexico|publisher=BBC|date=February 10, 2010|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8507514.stm|access-date=February 10, 2010|first=Julian|last=Miglierini|archive-date=November 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122065043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8507514.stm|url-status=live}}

{{main|Sponsored Content (South Park)}}

Comedy Central (Netherlands) chose temporarily not to broadcast some scenes from several shows following the November 2015 Paris attacks. While no specifics were given, it included a scene in the 2015 episode "Sponsored Content" where presidential candidate Mr. Garrison states that he knows there is only one way how to deal with Syrian refugees, and the crowd shouts "fuck them all to death".{{Cite web |date=2015-11-24 |title=Comedy Central schrapt scène South Park na aanslagen Parijs |trans-title=Comedy Central discards South Park scene after Paris attacks |url=http://www.nu.nl/media/4170891/comedy-central-schrapt-scene-south-park-aanslagen-parijs.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125045701/http://www.nu.nl/media/4170891/comedy-central-schrapt-scene-south-park-aanslagen-parijs.html |archive-date=2015-11-25 |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Nu.nl |language=nl}}{{Cite web |date=2015-11-24 |title=Reactie Comedy Central South Park scène |trans-title=Comedy Central reacts to South Park scene |url=http://news.smart.pr/viacom/reactie-comedy-central-south-park-scene |website=Smart.pr |language=nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125070851/http://news.smart.pr/viacom/reactie-comedy-central-south-park-scene |archive-date=2015-11-25 |access-date=July 25, 2023}}[https://www.dumpert.nl/embed/6698462/a61bfe4e/ Broadcast with and without the scene] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124045906/https://www.dumpert.nl/embed/6698462/a61bfe4e/ |date=November 24, 2015 }}, dumpert.nl

South Park has repeatedly mocked the concept of "climate change" and pushed forward "climate change denialist talking points". This happened most prominently in the 2006 episode "ManBearPig", which made fun of US presidential candidate Al Gore and his climate change activism by comparing it to alarmism about a mythical monster. For this the series has been repeatedly criticized by the general media, which called this approach by the popular show as "irresponsible". Twelve years later, in "Time to Get Cereal" as well as "Nobody Got Cereal?", the show tried to reverse its previous stance by depicting its stand-in allegory as an actual real issue and showed the protagonists making (forced) apologies to Al Gore.{{cite web|title=South Park apologizes to Al Gore and admits it was wrong about global warming|work=Salon|date=November 8, 2018|url=https://www.salon.com/2018/11/08/south-park-apologizes-to-al-gore-and-admits-it-was-wrong-about-global-warming/|access-date=September 25, 2010|first=Matthew|last=Rozsa|archive-date=November 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108183157/https://www.salon.com/2018/11/08/south-park-apologizes-to-al-gore-and-admits-it-was-wrong-about-global-warming/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=12 years after mocking Al Gore's fight against climate change, South Park reconsiders|publisher=Vox|date=November 14, 2018|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/11/14/18080758/south-park-time-to-get-cereal-recap-season-22-al-gore-global-warming-manbearpig|access-date=September 25, 2010|first=Emily|last=VanDerWerff|archive-date=November 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114175340/https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/11/14/18080758/south-park-time-to-get-cereal-recap-season-22-al-gore-global-warming-manbearpig|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=South Park's Al Gore apology contains an inconvenient truth: it's funny|work=The Guardian|date=November 11, 2018|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/nov/11/south-park-al-gore-apology-climate-change-manbearpig|access-date=September 25, 2010|first=Sam|last=Wolfson|archive-date=November 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111150522/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/nov/11/south-park-al-gore-apology-climate-change-manbearpig|url-status=live}}

The show's turnaround on the issue garnered generally positive reactions from the press, praising the episodes for their humor, braveness and honesty. However, others pointed out that even this depicted reversal was just a "mild repudiation" and a "half-apology"; with this change of heart just being part of what seems to be increased concerns of the creators for the legacy of their long-running show.

{{main|Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus}}

One of Parker and Stone's earliest responses to the show being condemned as "nothing but bad animation and fart jokes" was creating a show-within-the-show about two even-more-crudely-drawn characters named Terrance and Phillip who do little else but flatulate around each other.{{cite news | title = South Park Studios Chat with Matt and Trey | publisher = spscriptorium.com | date = May 10, 2001 | url = http://www.spscriptorium.com/SPinfo/010510SPStudiosChatWithMattAndTrey.htm | access-date = January 30, 2009 | archive-date = February 4, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120204085615/http://www.spscriptorium.com/SPinfo/010510SPStudiosChatWithMattAndTrey.htm | url-status = live }} The child characters on the show find Terrance and Phillip, who debuted in the season one (1997) episode "Death", to be hysterical, while their parents find them to be horribly offensive.{{cite news| author = Randy Fallows| title = The Theology of South Park| publisher = The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture| date = January 2002| url = http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/tv/theology_southpark.htm| access-date = May 3, 2009| archive-date = May 13, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190513135108/http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/tv/theology_southpark.htm| url-status = live}} An entire episode featuring the duo aired on April 1, 1998 in lieu of an episode that was supposed to continue from the show's previous episode from four weeks earlier, which ended with a cliffhanger promising to reveal the identity of Cartman's father in the show's next airing. Several fans were angered by the April Fools' Day prank, to which Comedy Central received 2,000 email complaints. Following this, Comedy Central moved the planned air date of the next show up a month so that fans could sooner watch the actual show they originally expected to see.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/not-eternity-cartman-paternity-article-1.792738|title=NOT AN ETERNITY TO CARTMAN PATERNITY|date=April 9, 1998|newspaper=www.nydailynews.com|access-date=May 24, 2009|last=Huff|first=Richard|location=New York|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524115236/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/not-eternity-cartman-paternity-article-1.792738|url-status=dead}}

Michael Moore interviewed Matt Stone for his 2002 film Bowling for Columbine. Stone discussed his experiences growing up in the Littleton area and the social alienation that might have contributed to the Columbine High School massacre. Stone, who is a gun owner himself, said that Moore's presentation of their interview was fair, but he criticized the director for a short animated segment that followed the interview. The cartoon, which is about the history of guns in the United States, implies that there is a connection between the Ku Klux Klan and the establishment of the National Rifle Association of America. Matt Stone, who did not have anything to do with that short cartoon, criticized Moore for making the cartoon "very South Park-esque" and argued that Moore deliberately sought to give viewers the incorrect impression that he and Trey Parker had produced the animation, by playing these two completely separate segments consecutively. "We have a very specific beef with Michael Moore. I did an interview, and he didn't mischaracterize me or anything I said in the movie. But what he did do was put this cartoon right after me that made it look like we did that cartoon."[https://www.today.com/popculture/team-america-takes-moviegoers-wbna6228221 'Team America' takes on moviegoers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921170848/https://www.today.com/popculture/team-america-takes-moviegoers-wbna6228221 |date=September 21, 2020 }} msnbc.com, October 15, 2004. Stone called it "a good reference to what Michael Moore does in films [...] he creates meaning where there is none by cutting things together"."[http://www.indielondon.co.uk/film/team_america_stoneQ&A.html Team America: World Police – Matt Stone Q&A] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165521/http://www.indielondon.co.uk/film/team_america_stoneQ%26A.html |date=2016-03-03 }}", IndieLondon The pair responded by depicting Moore in an unflattering light before having his character blow himself up in their 2004 film Team America: World Police.

{{main|Band in China}}

{{see also|Censorship in China}}

Due to the references to many forbidden topics such as Dalai Lama, Winnie-the-Pooh and organ transplants in the season 23 (2019) episode "Band in China", since the episode's broadcast, South Park has been entirely banned in China: the series' Baidu Baike article, Baidu Tieba forum, Douban page, Zhihu page and Bilibili videos have been deleted or inaccessible to the public. In addition to this fact, all related keywords and topics have been prohibited from being searched and discussed on China-based search engines and social media sites including Baidu, Sina Weibo, WeChat public platform (微信公众号), etc.{{cite web |title=諷刺迫害人權 喜劇動畫《南方四賤客》遭中國封殺 |url=https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/2936373 |website=Liberty Times |access-date=October 4, 2019 |date=October 4, 2019 |archive-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207192231/https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/2936373 |url-status=live |author1=自由時報電子報 }}{{cite news |title=美《衰仔樂園》涉小熊維尼佩奇人權及教育營最敏感而在華遭全面封殺 |url=http://www.rfi.fr/tw/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B/20191005-%E8%A1%B0%E4%BB%94%E6%A8%82%E5%9C%92%E6%B6%89%E5%B0%8F%E7%86%8A%E7%B6%AD%E5%B0%BC%E4%BD%A9%E5%A5%87%E4%BA%BA%E6%AC%8A%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E7%87%9F%E5%8F%8A%E5%A4%A7%E5%A4%A7%E6%9C%80%E6%95%8F%E6%84%9F%E8%80%8C%E9%81%AD%E5%85%A8%E9%9D%A2%E5%B0%81%E6%AE%BA |website=RFI |access-date=October 6, 2019 |date=October 5, 2019 |archive-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207202650/https://www.rfi.fr/tw/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B/20191005-%E8%A1%B0%E4%BB%94%E6%A8%82%E5%9C%92%E6%B6%89%E5%B0%8F%E7%86%8A%E7%B6%AD%E5%B0%BC%E4%BD%A9%E5%A5%87%E4%BA%BA%E6%AC%8A%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E7%87%9F%E5%8F%8A%E5%A4%A7%E5%A4%A7%E6%9C%80%E6%95%8F%E6%84%9F%E8%80%8C%E9%81%AD%E5%85%A8%E9%9D%A2%E5%B0%81%E6%AE%BA |url-status=live }}{{cite news|last1=Brzeski|first1=Patrick|title='South Park' Scrubbed From Chinese Internet After Critical Episode|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/south-park-banned-chinese-internet-critical-episode-1245783|access-date=October 7, 2019|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=October 7, 2019|archive-date=October 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010152035/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/south-park-banned-chinese-internet-critical-episode-1245783|url-status=live}}

{{portal|United States|Colorado|Television|Cartoon|Humor}}

• South Park (Park County, Colorado)
• South Park City

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{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last1=Simpson|first1=Brandon|title=The Libertarian Lessons of South Park: An Analysis of Libertarianism in South Park, How Ron Paul, Gary Johnson & South Park Created a New Generation of Libertarians & South Park Conservatives |date= 2013|publisher=Small Town Press|location=Dry Ridge, KY|isbn=978-0981646664| oclc=844727134 }}
• {{cite book|author1=Arp, Robert |author-link1=Robert Arp|author2=Decker, Kevin S.|author3=Irwin, William|title=The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy: Respect My Philosophah!|date=2013|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1118386569|oclc=940807046}}

{{sister project links|South Park|auto=yes}}

{{South Park}}

{{Criticism of religion}}

Controversies

Category:Television controversies in the United States

Category:Animation controversies in television

Category:Obscenity controversies in animation

Category:Obscenity controversies in television

Category:Rating controversies in television

Category:Political controversies in television

Category:1990s controversies

Category:21st-century controversies

Category:Controversies about specific works