Will South Park be canceled by Donald Trump? The season premiere is garnering significant backlash, with White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers telling multiple outlets that “South Park 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 said, “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.”
The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, sarcastically responded to the White House at Comic-Con International, saying, “We’re terribly sorry.” This response was sparked by South Park’s depiction of Trump. Trump is portrayed as a bully with an extremely sensitive ego. He is later shown sleeping in bed with Satan, where Satan asks Trump about the “Epstein List,” alluding to Jeffrey Epstein’s unreleased list. Additionally, the show has him completely exposed, a clear jibe at Trump.
Jacob Uy ’27 stated, “In my opinion, the depiction of Trump was meant to resemble Saddam Hussein, who was portrayed as the manipulative lover of Satan. Trump was drawn in the same way with his head being dislocated. On top of that, Donald Trump was voiced by the same voice actor who voiced Saddam Hussein, Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park. This was meant to show that Trump is becoming a dictator and resembles Saddam Hussein, who also ruled as a dictator. This is reflected in Trump becoming Satan’s new lover, reminding Satan of someone he used to date (Hussein).”
The creators could have done this to give an extra layer to returning fans of South Park, who can easily recognize the purposeful connection between Trump and Hussein. Uy additionally stated, “This is why the White House could be frustrated, because Trump is being depicted as a war criminal and a dictator.”
The plot of the episode is Trump suing South Park town because the town did not want Jesus Christ being at the local elementary school. The episode ends with Jesus begging the townspeople to settle with Trump. They eventually agreed to pay Trump $3.5 million, compared to the original lawsuit, which demanded $5 billion. This portrayal of Trump was inspired by the settlement of his $16 million lawsuit with CBS. The lawsuit was based on the premise that CBS’ 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris to influence voters. Trump also reached a $15 million settlement with ABC over alleged defamation.
Trump could attempt to sue South Park for defamation, but any lawsuit would likely fail due to the show’s satirical content and disclaimer warning at the beginning. In doing so, Trump would be proving South Park’s point that he sues anyone who disagrees with him. Trump will not be able to cancel South Park due to Paramount’s commitment to the show after paying $1.5 billion in July. This deal gives Paramount the global streaming rights to South Park for five years with 50 episodes, reflecting Paramount’s dedication to the show.
