- South Park targeted President Donald Trump and Paramount in its 27th season premiere. The show lampooned Trump for his eagerness to sue and the network for its quick settlements and cancellation of The Late Show. It also included a deepfake video that showed a nude Trump.
Any fans who were concerned that Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s $1.5 billion deal with Paramount would dull the duo’s satirical edge got a quick and decisive answer on Wednesday’s season premiere of South Park. The show, which often addresses topical issues, skewered President Trump and its network parent, Paramount, in one of its most blistering episodes in years.
“Sermon on the Mount” had everything from Trump in bed with Satan (replacing Saddam Hussein, the ruler of hell’s former lover) to a parody of 60 Minutes to a mention of the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. Satan asked Trump about the “Epstein list.” And there was even a deepfake video of Trump walking through the desert, stripping off his suit, and eventually wandering around fully nude. There’s more—much more—but we won’t get into it here, since families visit this website. Best to just see it for yourself.
The episode’s official plot was about the return of Jesus, who enrolled in South Park’s schools. That led to the coverage by 60 Minutes, with the hosts nervously making comments about Trump, such as “the president, who is a great man … [who] is probably watching.” Parents in the fictional town protest to Trump they didn’t want Jesus in schools, which leads to Trump threatening to sue them for $5 billion. (Trump also threatens to sue Satan at one point.)
“I didn’t want to come back and be in the school, but I had to because it was part of a lawsuit and the agreement with Paramount,” Jesus tells the town. “You guys saw what happened to CBS? Well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount. You really want to end up like Colbert? You guys got to stop being stupid … He also has the power to sue and take bribes, and he can do anything to anyone. It’s the f*****g president, dude … South Park is over.”
The town eventually settles with Trump for $3.5 million, but is also required to create “pro-Trump messaging,” which leads to the deepfake film.
All of this comes hours after Paramount agreed to pay the production company owned by Stone and Parker $1.5 billion for the global streaming rights over the next five years. HBO Max previously held the streaming rights to the show. That high dollar amount caught people’s attention since Paramount handed it out so soon after cancelingThe Late Show and ending its association with host Stephen Colbert, calling its move “purely a financial decision.”