The White House released an official response after an episode of Comedy Central's long-running animated series "South Park" that criticized President Donald Trump when the show's 27th season debuted Wednesday night.
Currently, "South Park" is the second-longest animated series on American television, after "The Simpsons." Many political organizations and groups have criticized the show since its 1997 premiere due to its controversial themes. The show centers on a group of elementary students in the made-up town of South Park, Colorado.
The show's comeback after a two-year break was highlighted with the episode "Sermon on the 'Mount," which included controversial portrayals of the president, which received a large amount of attention on social media.
The White House issued a statement Thursday condemning the episode through spokesperson Taylor Rogers.
"The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end – for years they have come after 'South Park' for what they labeled as 'offense' content, but suddenly they are praising the show," the statement read.
The response continued: "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."
The series' major business developments corresponded with the season debut. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone recently agreed to a $1.5 billion agreement with Paramount for 50 further episodes and streaming rights. Hours before Wednesday's Comedy Central broadcast aired, the deal was finalized.
It also makes reference to the recent cancellation of CBS's "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, which happened soon after Colbert referred to the Trump deal as a "big fat bribe." Although according to reports, the show was canceled due to financial issues.
Several of the episode's controversial plots and references received attention. In particular, it features conversation about the Jeffrey Epstein case and shows President Trump in bed with Satan.
Satan later confronts Trump about his name appearing on the “Epstein list” and adds: “It’s weird that whenever it comes up, you just tell everyone to relax.”
The main characters, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman, notice major changes in their town at the beginning of the episode. The show's Principal has changed into "Power Christian Principal" and is inviting Jesus Christ to speak at South Park Elementary. The key characters attend a school assembly when the transition from progressive ideals to explicitly Christian messaging is made clear.
South Park locals are then shown complaining about the changes in their neighborhood throughout the episode, especially the inclusion of religious leaders in public schools. The episode's fictional newscast explains these changes by claiming that President Trump's threats to sue anyone who doesn't follow his orders are at fault.
Additionally, the idea of cultural change is also examined in the episode through Cartman's storyline. In the fictional world of the sitcom, Cartman finds that his historically offensive behavior no longer produce the same responses since it is now more socially accepted, asserting that "woke is dead."
Parker and Stone were questioned about the White House statement Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con. Parker replied, "We're terribly sorry," in a tone that seemed to be comical.
As of now, President Trump has not said anything about the matter directly.
