South Park has been going hard on Republicans and conservatives this season, and now MAGA is blaming the animated series for the death of prominent right wing activist and influencer Charlie Kirk.
Although President Donald Trump has been the major focal point of the show's satire this season, Kirk was mocked in the Season 27 episode "Got a Nut." In one of the episode's side stories, Clyde Donovan starts a right-wing debate podcast, which angers Cartman, who feels that Clyde has stolen his anti-feminist and antisemitic shtick. In response, Cartman sets up his own podcast. Throughout the episode, Cartman's appearance slowly begins to resemble that of Kirk. In one scene, Cartman, with his hair fully styled like Kirk's, argues with a college student using a microphone, clearly poking fun at Kirk's college campus debates.
Kirk took the satire in stride, calling the episode and its portrayal of him "hilarious" on his podcast.
“There’s going to be a lot said about this, but we need to have a good spirit about being made fun of. This is all a success, this is all a win,” Kirk said on his podcast on TikTok after the episode premiered. “We as conservatives, we have thick skin, not thin skin. You can make fun of us and it doesn’t matter. And until next time, I hope all of you become master debaters for truth.”
The episode's mockery of Kirk was fairly tame considering what we've seen them do to President Trump this season, but that still hasn't stopped MAGA and Kirk supporters from blaming the show and its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, for Kirk's death. The right-wing activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA was assassinated on Wednesday, September 10th, at Utah Valley University during his American Comeback Tour appearance.
Neither South Park nor Comedy Central has offered an official statement on the death of Charlie Kirk; however, it appears the studio is aware of the blowback it's received, including demands for cancellation. According to multiple media reports, the episode "Got a Nut" has been removed from the list of South Park reruns on Comedy Central. However, it is still available to watch on Paramount+.
South Park is set to return with a new episode on September 23. It remains to be seen whether the show will continue its sharp political satire aimed at conservatives and Republicans following Kirk’s assassination. Will creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker keep targeting Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, or will they steer the series toward less politically charged territory for a while?