The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have issued a sarcastic apology to US president Donald Trump after he was left “seething” over a cartoon showing him in bed with the devil.
Known for its subversive content, the animated comedy series began its 27th season on Wednesday (23 July), days after signing a $1.5b (£1.1b) deal with Paramount.
An episode called “Sermon of the Mount” showed a cartoon Trump – with a real photo of his face– cuddling in bed with the figure of Satan, who comments on the size of his manhood. The episode also takes aim at Trump’s recent lawsuits, including his legal battle with Paramount over the editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, which saw the US president receive $16m in a controversial settlement.
An administration source told Deadline that president Trump had been left “seething over the childish attack”.
“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,” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers stated.
“We’re terribly sorry,” Parker said in a deadpan tone, while appearing a the Comic-Con Comedy Central Animation panel on Thursday (23 July), per Deadline.
He admitted that the final episode had been completed just three days before it aired. “We were like, ‘I don’t know if people are going to like this.’ We were reading stuff in the newspaper, and were like, ‘Let’s put that in there!’”
The decision to not blur Trump’s penis in one outrageous segment took four days to make, according to the creators. “I’m like, ‘We’re not going to blur the penis.’” said Parker.
Stone added: “If we put eyes on the penis, we won’t blur it. That was a whole conversation with grown up people for four f***ing days!”
In his statement condemning the episode, Rogers went on to claim that the show’s popularity had “hit record lows”.
“The Left’s hypocrisy truly has no end – for years they have come after South Park for what they labeled as ‘offense’ content, but suddenly they are praising the show,” he said.
“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,” adding: “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.”
Elsewhere, Deadline quotes a White House source as saying that Trump was “seething” in the wake of the episode’s airing.
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