The last time a security guard was spotted at South Park‘s production offices in Marina del Rey was when Eric Cartman got deputized in 1998’s “Chickenlover” episode and started pulling over tricycles and ticketing cows. Respect mah authoritah!
But in recent weeks, the show has quietly added a real-life security guard out front — uniformed, if not visibly armed.
Reps for the frequently offending show declined to comment on the new hire, but you don’t have to be Professor Chaos to figure out what’s going on. The move likely stems from the heightened scrutiny following a since-pulled episode lampooning the late Charlie Kirk that aired only about a month before his September assassination. But creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone haven’t exactly been on a MAGA charm offensive lately. Other episodes this season have mocked
Donald Trump’s allegedly microscopic penis, followed his efforts to secretly abort the Antichrist baby he is expecting with Satan and depicted Homeland Security head Kristi Noem gleefully mowing down puppies with a rifle.
Of course, South Park had been the target of security threats well before Trump entered politics. In 2010, a radical Islamic group called Revolution Muslim posted what many interpreted as a death threat after an episode in which the Prophet Muhammad was shown in a bear suit. The message referenced the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was killed by Islamic extremists in 2004 after releasing a short film critical of Islam. Back then, Comedy Central responded by heavily censoring the episodes — bleeping all mentions of Muhammad’s name and removing key dialogue — and later pulled them from streaming platforms and reruns entirely.
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Also in Rambling Reporter:
How Gwenyth Paltrow biographer Amy Odell — or, as the Goop founder refers to her, “this hack” — got a boost from being dissed.
An iconic Seinfeld episode turns 30. The writer who turned “no soup for you” into one of the most quoted catchphrases in sitcom history recalls how The Soup Nazi became a thing.
This story appeared in the Nov. 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
