17 Times ‘South Park’ Hit the Zeitgeist in Good and Bad Ways

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17 Times ‘South Park’ Hit the Zeitgeist in Good and Bad Ways
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With a show as controversial as South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker must’ve expected some headlines and in-depth discussions about the proverbial “line” they cross from time to time. But it’d be dang-near impossible to predict how their little show could’ve actually affected the real world outside of a fictional, animated town.

Either way, whether they were out to make headlines or not, these spicier moments from South Park definitely made their mark on pop culture ‘round the world.

Cartman Gets AIDs

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM CARTMAN GETS AIDS Cure For AIDS SOUTH PARK Cartman accidentally gets AIDS, intentionally gives Kyle AIDS, then the two go meet with who else but Magic Johnson to help them find a cure. It's one of those episodes where the intent is to be edgy, almost to a fault. But it does at least give us the gem, I'm not just sure, I'm HIV positive.

Mocking Tom Cruise’s Scientology Beliefs

SOUTH PARK 200, 201 В Fred davager CENSORED CENSORED CRACKED.COM They were trying to one-up their inflmmatory skewering of Tom Cruise and Scientology in Trapped In A Closet, and they did such a good job that Comedy Central bleeped a large portion of the episode. Matt and Trey said the censorship wasn't some meta-joke... In fact, Kyle's final customary speech was about intimidation and fear.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas Constantly Assaulting Indiana Jones

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM SPIELBERG AND GEORGE LUCAS SOUTH PARK In the wake of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, South Park depicted Spielberg and Lucas as constantly uh... assaulting Indiana Jones. Assault is not something that's easy to write comedy for, and it is portrayed very graphically. Definitely a good episode to skip if your family is visiting.

Oprah’s Vagina and Anus Conspiring Against Her

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM OPRAH WINFREY T NATIONAL FIRST NATIONAL FIRST NATIONAL FIRST NATIO BANK OF CHI OF CHICAGO BANK OF CHICAGO BANK OF CHICAGO SOUTH PARK In A Million Little Fibers Oprah's vagina and anus conspire against her. Not a terribly mean premise, but just not funny or clever enough to justify it. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have since admitted that A Million Little Fibers is one of their worst episodes.

Christopher Reeve Sucking the Juice from Aborted Fetuses

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM CHRISTOPHER REEVE A R RES RCI SOUTH 0 PARK BIOH iTER S T In the episode Krazy Kripples, Christopher Reeve advocates stem cell research for the handicapped. Не portrays this by cracking open the bodies of aborted fetuses and sucking out the juice. Which goes farther, snapping an aborted fetus' neck or naming the episode Krazy Kripples?

Kick A Ginger Day

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM KICK A GINGER DAY SOUTH PARK The classic episode Ginger Kids saw Cartman ridicule red headed kids until the rest ofí the gang convinces him he himself is ginger. Soon after the episode aired real middle schoolers adopted 'Kick a Ginger Day' and brutally attacked red headed students at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School in Massachusetts.

Chef’s Death

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM CHEF'S DEATH EPISODE SOUTH PARK When Isaac Hayes, the voice actor for Chef, left the show due to their views on Scientology and his belonging to the Church of Scientology, the show used old voice clips to make an episode where Chef becomes a child molester and is brutally killed after being brainwashed by a similar group. A little petty, a little using his voice without permission, a little distasteful.

The Jonas Brothers’ Purity Rings Scam

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM THE JONAS BROTHERS Jonas Brothers Joe Nick Kevin PEPSI CENTER Jonas Brothers channel on D Channel SOUTH PARK In the season 13 premiere, The Ring, The Jonas Brothers and their purity rings are the focus of the episode. Later revealing they are part of a Disney conspiracy to sell sex to young girls. Since then the Jonas Brothers have spoken out about their discomfort with the media discussing their sex lives as teens, and their publicist barred interviewers from asking them about it after the episode had aired.

The Prophet Muhammad Controversy

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM CENSORSHIP BATTLE A-TEA mmmm.. Herbal Teas IMAGE CENSORED BY FOX IMAGE CENSORED BY ICE FOX IMAGE CENSORED BY down FOX IMAGE CENSORED BY SOUTH FOX PARK IMAGE CENSORED BY FOX IMAGE CENSORED BY What' S the worst thing you can show on television? The Prophet Muhammad, let's try that thought Trey and Matt when they tried to air a cartoon version of the Muslim Prophet, in the episode Cartoon Wars. Luckily Comedy Central had the sense to block the image, leading Trey and Matt to play on THAT aspect of censorship, instead of focusing on pissing off

The Pandemic Special

Sitcoms and real world events BEWARE OF covip-19 K South Park profits off of COVID-19. CLOSING The Season 24 premiere The Pandemic Special was the show's first ever hour- long episode. It satirized anyone using COVID to gain profit, and showed Cartman loving this new world. CRACKED

Britney Spears Shooting Herself

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM BRTINEY SPEARS SHOOTS HERSELF I'm with stupid SOUTH PARK A commentary on how the media treats young celebrities, this episode leads to Britney Spears shooting herself in the head, surviving, and still being harassed by paparazzi. Hindsight is 20/20 on all of the comedies former Britney ridicule, and while it's not a bad commentary on the subject, the worst thing you can probably do to someone who is having a mental break due to media scrutiny, is make an entire episode about her.

Fox Turning the Show Down

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS FOX TURNED DOWN THE SHOW. SOUTH PARK Before landing on Comedy Central, Trey Parker and Matt Stone pitched the show to Fox. Executives at Fox turned them down because they didn't think a show about kids could work and wanted it to be more family-centric. CRACKED.COM

The Chinese Government Banning DJ Zedd Over a South Park Tweet

China banned DJ Zedd because he liked one tweet from South Park. It was a pretty innocuous tweet, but the issue was that South Park relentlessly criticizes the Chinese government. CRACKED.COM

The Identity of Cartman’s Dad

.. T b P -DIII IV RTS Ye W The South Park Season 2 premiere (April 1, 1998) was a meta prank. Trey Parker & Matt Stone promised that the identity of Cartman's dad would be revealed. Not only did they not do that, but it wasn't even a South Park episode - it was an in-universe Terrance & Phillip one. Millions of people were pissed off about getting trolled on multiple levels. CRACKED.COM

The Battle With the MPAA Over South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

CRACKED.COM The 1999 South Park film was originally named: South Park: All Hell Breaks Loose The MPAA didn't allow Trey Parker and Matt Stone to use the word Hell, so they came up with a new name: SOUTH PARK BIGGER, LONGER, AND UNCUT This title passed the probe and the MPAA didn't get the uncircumcised penis-related joke.

Steve Irwin in Hell

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM STEVE IRWIN IN HELL in SOUTH PARK This episode Hell On Earth 2006 features Steve Irwin with his cause of death graphically depicted, only a few weeks after the tragedy. Terri Irwin worried her children might see it, and it also implied that Irwin was in hell. While the turnaround was fast after his death, the creators should have known Steve is off limits.

The Marines Forcing Saddam Hussein to Watch the Show

CRACKED SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS FORCED TO WATCH SOUTH PARK The Marines who were in charge of looking after Saddam Hussein made him watch the South Park movie over and over again while he was in prison. As a thank you, the creators of South Park got a signed photo of Saddam from the Marines.

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