Breaking news: Comedy Central just removed a “South Park” episode from its rerun schedule following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk. The episode titled “Got a Nut” first aired on Aug. 6 of this year and is part of the show’s latest season. Its plot includes Eric Cartman parodying Charlie Kirk by mimicking his hairstyle, public person, and debate style.Reportedly, the episode was removed because it was set to re-air on Sep. 10, the same day Kirk was shot dead. There is no official statement from Comedy Central explaining why the episode was pulled.
According to reports in the US, it had been scheduled for a re-run on Wednesday night, but it has now been permanently pulled from Comedy Central’s TV rotation. It is still available on demand on Paramount+. Back in July, Kirk told Fox News he had “kinda laughed” on seeing the teaser for the episode. He added he used to watch South Park when he was at high school and took it as “a badge of honour” that he was now being depicted in the show, which he described as an “equal opportunity offender.”
“It’s kinda funny, and it kinda goes to show the cultural impact and the resonance that our movement has been able to achieve. I look at this as a badge of honour,” he said.
An image of Cartman dressed like Kirk appears on the social media accounts for The Charlie Kirk Show. After Kirk’s tragic murder at Utah Valley University, while engaged in the same sort of college campus debate the episode poked fun of, a few MAGA conservatives online reportedly blasted the show. The Daily Beast spotted some other comments on social media: “Let’s blame South Park. Blame the media. Blame leftist rhetoric. These people hate you and want to see you dead, and: “South Park certainly fomented the hatred necessary to get Kirk assassinated,” and: “[South Park creators] Trey Parker and Matt Stone are responsible for this.” A popular account called Johnny MAGA dubbed South Park “monsters” for the episode.
When South Park Elementary counselor Mr. Mackey is fired due to federal budget cuts, he gets a job with ICE, which sees him participating in the arrest of undocumented immigrants at various locations. These include a Dora the Explorer stage show, where both audience members and the show’s star are arrested, as well as Heaven. During these raids, Mackey’s superior, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, is seen shooting non-aggressive dogs, rejuvenating her frequently deteriorating face with botox, and participating in photo-ops.
