South Park has fired back at the Department of Homeland Security for using an image from the long-running animated show to promote joining Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Tuesday, the DHS X account used a still from a teaser for episode two of the show’s newest season showing ICE officers descending on the fictional town of South Park with the caption: “JOIN.ICE.GOV.”
Hours later, the official account for South Park clapped back, retweeting the image with the caption: “Wait, so we ARE relevant?” along with the hashtag “eat a bag of d***s.”
The caption is in reference to a statement from the White House, released after the South Park season 27 premiere episode launched a scathing critique of President Trump.
“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 spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement at the time.
However, the premiere episode drew record ratings for South Park, attracting 5.9 million viewers across the Comedy Central cable channel and the Paramount+ streaming service.
Paramount noted that this was South Park’s best season premiere rating since 2022. The company also said that this was the show’s biggest share of a cable audience for a season premiere since 1999.
Wait, so we ARE relevant?#eatabagofdicks https://t.co/HeQSMU86Da
— South Park (@SouthPark) August 5, 2025
The episode featured several moments where Trump was in bed with Satan, who confronts the president over rumors that his name appears on the “Epstein list” in reference to documents from the investigation into deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
It also took aim at Trump’s recent lawsuits, including his legal battle with Paramount over the editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, which saw the president receive $16 million in a controversial settlement.
The teaser for the second episode of the season, slated to air August 6 on Comedy Central, shows Trump seated next to Satan at a formal dinner when he reaches under the table and touches the character’s thigh. Satan then bats his hand away, telling the president to “stop!” while a presenter in the background is heard praising Trump, stating: “We want to honor the president’s courage…”
The second episode comes as South Park is heading to Paramount+ after the show’s creators struck a $1.5 billion streaming deal. South Park left HBO Max and migrated to Paramount+ as of August 5.
New episodes will continue to air on Comedy Central before being made available to stream.
