Could South Park's Trump Attack Cost Paramount? Legal Experts Weigh In

Newsweek

25-07-2025

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The animated sitcom South Park made a return to screens this week with a wild satirical portrayal of President Donald Trump, prompting questions about potential legal blowback on the makers.
Following a near two-and-a-half-year hiatus, the premiere episode shows a naked Trump trying to seduce Satan, and came a day after the show's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone had reached a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount.
South Park has long been known for its political satire, but will this latest episode prompt a legal response from the president, along with a punishing price tag? The views of experts Newsweek spoke to might surprise you.
A Comedy Central Animation Wednesdays billboard featuring South Park is seen during the day above Red Lobster in Times Square July 16, 2024 in New York City.
A Comedy Central Animation Wednesdays billboard featuring South Park is seen during the day above Red Lobster in Times Square July 16, 2024 in New York City.
CraigWhat happened in the South Park Season 27 Premiere?
It was already clear that South Park would be continuing its tradition of tackling topical news while turning up the heat on the unhinged and the absurd.
The trailer for this season, released in April, showed Canada going to war with the U.S, France taking back the Statue of Liberty and a reference to Elon Musk through the character of Randy Marsh, who said, "I'm just going to do some ketamine and f*** around with the government a little."
During the Season 27 premiere, titled Sermon on the 'Mount,' Trump is depicted in bed with Satan, complaining about the size of his penis, and arguing with the Canadian Prime Minister.
The episode also referenced the "Epstein list," the alleged list of clients involved in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice and FBI released a memo saying they had found "no incriminating 'client list'" after an "exhaustive review" of government documents related to the case.
This put the president's ties to Epstein under fresh scrutiny, and the Trump administration is under pressure from the president's own supporters to release evidence about Epstein.
This week, The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had been told by Attorney General Pam Bondi in May that his name appeared "multiple times" in the so-called Epstein files. White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed this allegation as "another fake news story."
Could This Have Legal Implications?
The South Park premiere has caused a stir. But could it have legal implications?
"It's improbable," David S. Korzenik, a media lawyer who has written about and taught media law for decades, told Newsweek during a phone interview. "There's no real possibility of any credible legal peril."
"If there were to be a hypothetical lawsuit against South Park, that would be more just, for show," Korzenik said. He said: "Any lawsuit against South Park for this would be ridiculous."
Korzenik added that "No one is going to look at that and rely on that as being a statement of a fact."
"They're going to understand it to be an insult, joking, attacking, expressing the fears that people have about what could be true or might not be true. And this parody is a highly protected design of American comment."
Dave Heller, Deputy Director Media Law Resource Center told Newsweek via email: "U.S. law is extremely protective of satire and parody, including vicious attacks on public figures."
Heller referenced the 1988 case of Hustler Magazine, Inc. V Falwell, the landmark decision by the Supreme Court, whereby the Court held that parodies of public figures are protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"Court recognized that mockery of political figures, as a weapon of attack, scorn, and ridicule, is part of American culture as far back as George Washington," Heller said, adding "South Park trades in exactly this tradition. And while it might not be to everyone's taste, it certainly should be understood and protected as such."
Newsweek also spoke with Marjorie Heins, a First Amendment lawyer, founder of the Free Expression Policy Project and author of multiple books about free speech and censorship. "The South Park show is obviously satire, not an assertion of fact, so under the law as it now stands, the satire is fully protected by the First Amendment," she said.
Heins, however, noted that "At some future point, the Supreme Court might change the law to allow the suppression of politically motivated satires such as this."
Newsweek also spoke to Bob Corn-Revere, chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). "The First Amendment fully protects this kind of satire, particularly when it is directed at a public official," he said. Corn-Revere added that "Trump would have no plausible claim against the creators of South Park or Paramount."
How Has The White House Reacted?
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Rolling Stone on Thursday morning, "The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end."
"For years they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offense' [sic] content, but suddenly they are praising the show," Rogers said. "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. 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," Rogers said.
Trump has not personally weighed in on the South Park episode.
What To Know About The Paramount Streaming Deal
The South Park creators' $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount came after a monthlong bidding war, per the Los Angeles Times.
In 2021, Parker and Trey signed a reported $900m deal to extend South Park to Season 30, which should take the show up to 2027. The 26th season featured six episodes, so this season may take a similar format.
Paramount is the parent company of Comedy Central, where South Park airs, as well as CBS. CBS has recently faced significant criticism over its decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Paramount has said that the late-night talk show was canceled for financial reasons.
On Thursday, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the $8.4 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance media. The deal follows Paramount's settlement of a $16 million lawsuit filed by Trump over what he has claimed were deceptive editing practices related to a 60 Minutes interview with then-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris which aired in October, during the 2024 election.
South Park's season 27 premiere referenced the settlement of the lawsuit and the Late Show cancellation.
The fact that Colbert is a known critic of Trump has sparked new concerns about the administration and its influence over the media.