As you may have heard by now, Isaac Hayes will no longer be providing the voice of Chef on South Park, apparently due to the show’s recent episode ‘The Great Scientology Secret‘.
Hayes’s official reason, according to a statement: “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins. . . . Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored. . . . As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.”
South Park co-creator Matt Stone’s response, according to the Associated Press: “This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology. . . . He has no problem — and he’s cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians. . . . [We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin.” Zing!
MAR 17 UPDATE: Oops, turns out the actual name of the episode was ‘Trapped in the Closet‘ — or at least I think so. My bad!
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