South Park Creators Apologize for Upsetting Trump, Defend Unblurred Scene

One day after the Season 27 premiere made bigger headlines than the show has seen in decades, co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone addressed the possibly-AI Trump penis in the episode -- as well as the White House backlash -- at San Diego Comic-Con.

Perhaps the delay for the premiere of South Park worked in the show's favor. Nearly three decades into its existence, the crass animated series just delivered one of its most topical and controversial episodes of all time, even getting an angry response from President Trump's White House.

The episode aired less than a day before the FCC approved the massive deal combining Paramount and Skydance, with critics saying that Paramount capitulated to the president with a multi-million dollar settlement over a 60 Minutes interview with then-candidate Kamala Harris -- and their decision to ax Stephen Colbert's The Late Show.

The premiere also came on the heels of a massive five-year deal with Parker and Stone's production company Park County worth a reported $1.5 billion dollars. The new deal brings South Park to Paramount+ as its new streaming home, as well as setting the co-creators up with a five-season deal for new episodes at 10 per season.

Paramount was reportedly originally negotiating a decade-long $3 billion deal with Park County, but The Hollywood Reporter says Skydance balked at that length in an uncertain streaming era. South Park was the highest-rated adult animated series on HBO Max for the month its Season 26 premiere dropped there in April 2023.

Negotiations with Paramount delayed production on the Season 27 premiere -- South Park famously produces each episode the week before it airs -- which just happened to bring it closer to both the exploding Epstein list scandal and after Colbert's surprise firing.

Parker and Stone did not hesitate to lean into the topical story, having the town of South Park also fall subject to a lawsuit from Trump, citing Colbert's fate. The premiere also included a scene with Trump in bed with Satan -- with Satan concerned about him possibly being on the Epstein list -- while Jesus told the citizens they should settle with the president.

But the most controversial moment came in a faux-realistic sequence at the end that featured a nude Trump and included a possibly-AI version of his penis speaking out as part of a fictional PSA created in support of his vision and strength.

When asked about the premiere -- and the reaction to it -- as part of Comedy Central's animation panel on Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con, Parker said with a very straight face, \"We're terribly sorry.\"

After the episode aired, the White House blasted the show. \"The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end -- for years, they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offense,'\" said Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers said in a statement to THR. \"Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows.\"

\"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,\" he continued. \"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.\"

As for the premiere story itself, he admitted that there was even some hesitation about it in the writer's room just days before air. \"Just three days ago, we were going, 'I don't know if people are going to like this,'\" he admitted.

When asked if they got any notes about the episodes more provocative and decidedly NSFW content, Parker said there was actually quite a bit of discussion and push back about depicting their faux-realistic Trump's talking penis.

\"They were like, 'We're gonna blur the penis,'\" he said of the network, \"and we're like, 'No, you're not gonna blur the penis.'\"