South Park airs naked Trump parody as parent company Paramount merges with Skydance
The episode also came as its parent company, Paramount, saw its multi-billion-dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance reach government approval.
Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount's $US8 billion ($12.15 billion) merger, after months of turmoil revolving around Mr Trump's legal battle with 60 Minutes, the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast network CBS.
The Trump administration had been rumoured to block the hard-fought deal with Skydance, until Paramount earlier this month agreed to pay a $US16 million ($24 million) settlement with the president.
Critics of the settlement lambasted it as a veiled bribe to appease Mr Trump, amid rising alarm over editorial independence overall.
Further outrage also emerged after CBS said it was cancelling Stephen Colbert's Late Show just days after the comedian sharply criticised the parent company's settlement on air.
Paramount cited financial reasons, but big names both within and outside the company have questioned those motives.
In a statement accompanying the deal's approval, FCC chairman Brendan Carr hailed the merger as an opportunity to bring more balance to "once-storied" CBS.
In a no-holds-barred season premiere, South Park shows the foul-mouthed Cartman appalled that NPR has been taken off the air by Mr Trump while Randy, a parent, is disturbed by the presence of Jesus in public elementary school.
Complaints to the fictional White House receive only a threat from Mr Trump to sue the mountain town of South Park for billions of dollars.
The episode also sees the US president begging Satan for sex and threatening to bomb Canada.
The season opener also departs from its bare-bones animation to feature an AI-generated short of an overweight Mr Trump staggering through the desert.
The short ends with a naked Mr Trump as the narrator says: "Trump. His penis is teeny-tiny, but his love for us is large."
Predictably, the White House was not amused.
"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," spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
"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."
The adult animated series, which frequently touches on hot-button issues in American life, is now in its 27th season.
AP/AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
36 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trump punishes Brazil with tariffs, sanctions over trial of ally Bolsonaro
President Donald Trump ordered massive tariffs on Brazil Wednesday and sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy. The announcement saw Trump make good on a threat to wield American economic might to punish Brazil -- and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in particular -- for what he has termed a "witch hunt" against former president Bolsonaro. Unlike the tariffs Trump is slapping on economies around the world, the measures against Brazil have been framed in openly political terms, sweeping aside centuries-old trade ties and a surplus that Brasilia put at $284 million last year. The moves dramatically increased the pressure on Moraes, who has emerged as one of the most powerful and polarizing people in Brazil -- and a consistent thorn in the far-right's side, after clashing repeatedly with Bolsonaro and others over disinformation. The Brazilian government's "politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil," the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the tariffs. It also cited Brazil's "unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy," and singled out Moraes by name. It did not state what date the tariffs would come into effect, but Trump had previously cited August 1. The new duties were announced shortly after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Moraes, which followed a similar move by the State Department earlier this month. The sanctions provoked a swift and furious response from Brasilia, where Attorney General Jorge Messias slammed them as "arbitrary," "unjustifiable" and "a serious attack on the sovereignty of our country." There was no immediate reaction from Brasilia to the tariffs announcement, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had earlier denounced Trump's threats as "unacceptable blackmail." Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist Lula. He risks up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say the plot included a plan to arrest and even assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes. Brazil has insisted it will proceed in its prosecution of Bolsonaro, and Trump's intervention in the case has so far improved Lula's popularity, as the Brazilian leader appeals for national unity in the face of US "interference." - 'Witch hunt' - Both Marco Rubio, America's top diplomat, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued statements Wednesday announcing the new sanctions against Moraes. "Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies," Bessent said. Rubio, the secretary of state, accused Moraes of "serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression." Moraes, 56, has played a controversial role in fighting disinformation. He was an omnipresent figure during the polarizing 2022 election campaign, aggressively using his rulings to fight election disinformation on social media. That included blocking the accounts of some prominent conservative figures. Last year, he ordered the shutdown of tech titan Elon Musk's X network in Brazil for 40 days for failing to tackle the spread of disinformation shared mainly by Bolsonaro backers. Bolsonaro has called Moraes a dictator, while his son Eduardo, an MP, had lobbied for US sanctions against the "totalitarian" judge. On Wednesday Eduardo Bolsonaro said the US action was "not about revenge, it's about justice." "Abuses of authority now have global consequences," he wrote on X. Trump's private media company has also sued Moraes over his social media-related orders. The US Treasury cited the Magnitsky Act for the sanctions. It freezes US-based assets and bars travel to the country for foreign officials accused of human rights abuses or corruption.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
US imposes 50 per cent tariff on copper imports: Trump
US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
US imposes 50 per cent tariff on copper imports: Trump
US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country.
