‘South Park's most furious episode ever': the jaw-dropping Satanic takedown of Donald Trump

The Guardian

2 days ago

It hasn't been a particularly great few weeks for Paramount. Thanks to its decision to pay Donald Trump $16m rather than fight a lawsuit that many predicted it would win – a move that happened just as they needed federal approval of an $8bn merger – all hell has broken loose.
Stephen Colbert (whose Late Show airs on Paramount-owned CBS) called the settlement a 'big fat bribe', precipitating the cancellation of his show. In response, Jon Stewart (whose Daily Show airs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central) aired a segment in which he and a gospel choir led the studio audience through a repeated chant of 'fuck you' directed at his paymasters. And now, in what might just be the worst possible timing for both Paramount and Trump, South Park is back.
Considering that South Park has always been known for its unvarnished satire, and for an extraordinarily responsive production process that allows it to comment on events almost until the moment of broadcast, the first episode of its 27th season always had the potential to sting. And since that first episode – entitled Sermon on the 'Mount – is a scorching critique of both Paramount's cowardice and Trump's eagerness to ride roughshod over his own voters, sting it does. Trump himself is a character, as is his talking micropenis. Even for a show like South Park, which has often been defined by its anger, this may well go down as its most furious ever.
The episode's plot, such as it is, involves Cartman becoming distraught at Trump's cancellation of funding for public broadcaster NPR, which he only listens to because he finds its wokeness hilarious. 'The government can't cancel a show,' he rails early on. 'I mean, what show are they going to cancel next?'
Very quickly answering its own question, we then meet South Park's version of Donald Trump. Presented – in terms of voice, behaviour and animation style – identically to Saddam Hussein in the South Park movie, the show's Trump brashly parrots the phrase 'Relax, guy' to anyone who takes issue with him, and is regularly seen in bed with Satan. He also keeps suing everybody, and removing his trousers to show off his tiny penis. In total, we see Trump's penis five times throughout the episode. Once is photorealistic, but we'll get to that.
Trump is there to try to placate the residents of South Park, who are angry that the person they voted for has become a self-interested dictator who probably appeared in the Epstein files. In perhaps the best joke of the episode, the town's protests are covered by 60 Minutes (the show that caused Trump to sue Paramount), by hosts nervous that anything they say will spark more presidential lawsuits. 'Oh boy, oh shit, oh God,' they keep mumbling, over an image of a ticking timebomb.
Then Jesus (last meaningfully seen on the show doing cocaine with Santa back in 2019) speaks to the residents. Having returned to fulfil the president's wishes to bring Christianity back to education, Jesus urges everyone not to upset Trump further. 'You guys saw what happened to CBS,' he whispered. 'You really want to end up like Colbert? Just shut up or we're going to be cancelled. If someone has the power of the presidency, and also has the power to sue and take bribes, then he can do anything to anyone.'
Spooked by the sermon, the South Park residents decide that the only way to survive is to pump out a stream of pro-Trump messaging. Thus, the final moments of the show are given over to a short film of a realistic deepfake Trump staggering through the desert as he removes his clothes. Collapsing on to the sand naked, Trump looks down at his penis, which (since it has eyes and a mouth) says, 'I'm Donald J Trump and I approve this message.' A voiceover intones: 'His penis is teeny tiny, but his love for us is large.' End of episode.
In other words, Sermon on the 'Mount is a grand dare. If Trump could get $16m by suing Paramount over an editorially acceptable edit on a news programme, then it stands to reason that he will try to go after a cartoon that depicts him trying to insert his microscopic penis into Satan. And if he does sue, will Paramount risk destroying its already damaged reputation by capitulating yet again?
There's plenty of nuance to this battle, not least the fact that the programme's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have just signed a $1.5bn contract with Paramount+, ensuring that it will exclusively stream South Park for the next five years, but the battle lines have been drawn. Paramount finds itself caught in yet another bind. If push comes to shove, who will it side with: a president who might block its $8bn merger out of spite, or its most aggressively provocative show? The way things are shaping up, this could be a hell of a season.