Trump's media war: White House takes aim at South Park and Colbert
From the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's Late Show to attacks on The View's Joy Behar, and now the latest controversy over South Park's explicit mockery of Donald Trump, the message is becoming harder to ignore: joke at the president's expense, and you may pay the price.
South Park is the setting of the latest scrap. The animated show returned after two years for its 27th season with a typically explosive premiere showing a fully naked President Trump in bed, begging for sex with series regular Satan. Unlike the other characters, Trump is portrayed using a real photo of his face superimposed onto an animated body. His genitalia can be seen five times in total throughout the episode.
The White House wasn't thrilled...
'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,' said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. '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.'
At a Comic-Con International panel on Thursday, South Park co-creator Trey Parker offered a typically deadpan 'apology': 'We're terribly sorry,' he said simply, followed by a long, unblinking stare.
Later on in the panel discussion, Parker revealed a behind-the-scenes disagreement with the network over whether or not to blur the President's private parts: 'They said, 'OK, but we're gonna blur the penis,' and I said, 'No you're not gonna blur the penis.''
The episode didn't just target Trump - it also aimed satire at Paramount, the studio that owns South Park and ironically with which Parker and Stone recently signed a massive five-year deal reportedly worth $1.5 billion.
Specifically, it mocked the company's controversial $16 million settlement with Trump over his lawsuit against CBS' 60 Minutes. Trump had claimed the program selectively edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to 'make her look better.'
Colbert also called out his network's parent company for paying the settlement, labelling it a 'big fat bribe.' Days later, his show was cancelled, prompting Trump to post on Truth Social: "I absolutely love that Colbert was fired.'
Paramount Global (which owns CBS, Comedy Central, and other networks) announced his show would be ending next May - a decision Colbert revealed on-air last week. It sparked immediate outrage among media figures and emotional tributes from fellow US late-night hosts.
The Daily Show's Jon Stewart condemned the move, suggesting Paramount may have been trying to appease Trump amid its high-stakes $8 billion merger with Skydance Media - a deal that requires approval from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission.
CBS insists the cancellation was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night' – and that it had nothing to do with content or performance. In a joint statement, senior executives called the show 'a staple of the nation's zeitgeist'.
Meanwhile, another veteran of political television, The View's Joy Behar, has found herself in hot water with the White House. During a segment discussing Trump's claim that Barack Obama tried to lead a coup against him, Behar said: 'The thing about him is he's so jealous of Obama because Obama is everything that he is not: Trim, smart, handsome, happily married, and can sing Al Green's song 'Let's Stay Together' better than Al Green. And Trump cannot stand it. It's driving him crazy.'
The White House quickly fire back: 'Joy Behar is an irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,' a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'It's no surprise that The View's ratings hit an all-time low last year. She should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump's historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off-air.'
Whether it's animated satire or late-night monologues, the White House's recent responses suggest a growing sensitivity to criticism - even when delivered through comedy.
But as South Park reminded viewers this week, the penis will not be blurred.
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