Trey Parker has admitted making South Park amid the Donald Trump administration can be scary.
The co-creator of the animated comedy series – which frequently pokes fun at world events – praised his writing team for having the courage to still make jokes at the expense of the US leader, despite making them a target.
In a rare Hollywood appearance to receive a special award from the TV Academy on Wednesday (21.05.26), Trey joked: “After doing the show for 30 years, I just wanted to say to the Television Academy, like, what took you so f****** long?”
Trey went on to discuss that he and partner Matt Stone are often told they are fearless for devoting so much of South Park to ridiculing Trump, leading to a surge in ratings and fury from the White House.
He praised the show’s writing team for their bravery, , “especially this year when we started saying like, ‘OK, so this is the show we’re going to do,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, OK — that’s gonna really p*** some people off.'”
He added: “There’s always groups telling you what you can and can’t say; now that group has a military and so it is scarier. They have to be fearless.”
Trey directed the rest of his speech to daughter Betty, who has been a voice on South Park since she was just two years old.
Brandishing his award, he told her: “I know I kind of forced you into this but don’t ever be afraid and don’t ever let people tell you what you can and can’t say, and what you can and can’t think. You’re always going to find people that agree with you, and you’ll get one of these, maybe.”
The White House has previously hit out at South Park over their depiction of Trump, who they have portrayed as having a micropenis and being one of Satan's lovers.
A social media statement previously slammed: "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.
"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."
