10 Most Controversial South Park Moments
The show is all about going too far - but when did they go too furthest?
If you’ve ever watched South Park, you’ll know that crossing the line is basically the whole point. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have created a comedy behemoth, and its incredible success means that they can basically do whatever they want.
It’s a show with its finger ever on the pulse, and their remarkably quick turnaround times mean they’re almost always the first to take a pop at current events.
This, combined with their love for toilet humour and a penchant for making serious (and occasionally preachy) points about society means that the show has generated more than its share of controversy. Few episodes go by without a reference to a real life celebrity or event, and feathers are ruffled as a matter of course.
Sometimes, though, they go a little bit further, pushing a joke or an angle to the point that they raise the ire of some seriously powerful groups. From religious organisations to beloved public figures, South Park has trodden on some big toes over twenty three seasons. They’re yet to find out exactly how far is too far, but most likely they’ll keep pushing until they do.
10. Mormons
Trey Parker and Matt Stone have found a lot of success poking fun at the Latter Day Saints. Before their smash hit musical The Book Of Mormon, they brought out an episode of South Park whose main thrust was gently - but thoroughly - mocking the belief system of the whole religion.
In All About Mormons, a new family comes to South Park. When Stan attempts to befriend them, they turn out to be the perfect family unit, a model of togetherness, until they start to discuss their religious beliefs.
The episode details the founding of the Mormon church in straightforward terms, but with a singing narrator filling in gaps in the story with “dum dum dum”s, which quickly convey Parker and Stone’s feelings on the religion.
Gary, the main Mormon character, is voiced by South Park writer Kyle McCulloch, who was raised in the LDS church, and the episode ends by pointing out that a disagreement over faith doesn’t make you a bad person - indeed the Mormons are some of the most decent characters in South Park. Nonetheless, All About Mormons is one of the show’s most thorough jabs at a religion.