South Park co-creator Trey Parker had the briefest of responses on Thursday to anger from the White House over the latest season premiere, which showed a naked Donald Trump in bed with Satan.
“We’re terribly sorry,” Parker said, followed by a long, deadpan-comic stare.
Parker was asked for his reaction to the fracas on the stage at San Diego’s Comic-Con International at the beginning of a animation panel that also included his South Park partner Matt Stone, Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge and actor Andy Samberg, who co-created the animated Digman!
Earlier in the day, the White House issued a statement on the 27th season premiere episode, which aired Wednesday night. Unlike other characters in the animated show, Trump is depicted as an actual photo of the US president on an animated body. There is also an extended scene featuring a hyper-realistic, deepfake video of Trump, completely naked, walking in a desert; and repeated suggestions that Trump’s genitalia are small.
“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,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in the statement. “President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
Later in the panel, Parker said they did get a note from their producers on the episode.
“They said, ‘OK, but we’re gonna blur the penis,’ and I said, ‘No you’re not gonna blur the penis,’” Parker said.
Stone added that the team decided to put eyes on the penis, which would make it a character: “If we put eyes on the penis, we won’t blur it. That was a whole conversation with grown-up people for four fucking days.”
The premiere also took aim at Paramount and its recent $16m settlement with Trump, just hours after Parker and Stone signed a $1.5bn, five-year deal with the company for 50 new episodes and streaming rights to previous seasons.
In the episode, Trump sues the town of South Park when its residents challenge the presence of Jesus Christ – the actual person – in its elementary school.
Jesus tells them they ought to settle. “You guys saw what happened to CBS? Yeah, well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount,” Jesus says. “Do you really want to end up like Colbert?”
CBS and parent Paramount Global canceled Stephen Colbert’s Late Show last week, days after Colbert sharply criticised Paramount’s settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview. CBS and Paramount executives have said the decision to axe The Late Show was purely financial.
The efficiency of South Park production – each episode is made in just a few days and can be finished within hours of going to air – allow it to stay incredibly current for an animated series.
“I don’t know what next week’s episode is going to be,” Parker said at Comic-Con of the premiere. “Even just three days ago, we were like, ‘I don’t know if people are going to like this.’”
Associated Press contributed to this report.