Latest news with #IsaacHayes
Metro
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The ‘truth' behind South Park star's controversial exit 17 years after his death
The son of a South Park star who left the show after an episode criticised Scientology has finally 'set the record straight'. After rising to fame as a singer-songwriter in the 1960s, Isaac Hayes was part of the cast of the animated sitcom during its debut in 1997. He voiced the character of Chef, the lunchroom cook at South Park Elementary, the school where lead characters Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny attended. However, nine seasons later, in 2006, a statement was issued in his name following the airing of the episode Trapped in the Closet – which took aim at the Church of Scientology, of which he was a member. At the time many were puzzled by the move, however Hayes never clarified any more beyond that initial statement. He died two years later following complications from a stroke he'd suffered in 2006. Nearly 20 years on his son has now made explosive claims, revealing the 'truth about what really happened'. Hayes began his music career in the early 1960s as a session musician for acts recorded by the Memphis-based Stax Records, later going on to co-write a string of hits including You Don't Know Like I Know, Soul Man and Hold On, I'm Comin. He went on to release his debut album, Presenting Isaac Hayes, in 1968. Although it was a commercial flop, he found success with future releases. The American singer and his song-writing partner David Porter were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, while he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Throughout his career Hayes won three Grammy Awards. In 2006 Hayes revealed he'd suffered a stroke and died two years later, aged 65, after being found unresponsive in his home near Memphis. Part of the original cast of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's series South Park, Hayes voiced Chef Jerome McElroy for nearly a decade. The character was regularly turned to as a source for advice from the children, with Chef also inspired by a dining hall worker Parker met while attending college. Although the show was known for pushing the boundaries with its storylines, a 2006 episode that poked fun at Scientology reportedly didn't sit well with the actor, whose character did not feature in the episode. The episode followed Stan joining Scientology after recruiters became convinced he was the reincarnation of church founder L. Ron Hubbard. Soon after the episode aired, a statement was released in Hayes' name, in which he requested to be released from his contract with Comedy Central and calling out South Park for satirising religious beliefs. '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. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices,' it read, but did not directly mention Scientology. Responding to the statement, Stone said the actor had never previously expressed concerns about similar storylines. 'He has no problem –and he's cashed plenty of checks– with our show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons, or Jews,' he said. Soon after reports started emerging that Hayes had not requested to leave the show and had instead been pushed to do so by fellow members of his church. Over the years claims have been made that Hayes did not have a say in his South Park exit and was instead influenced by others. Last year his son, Isaac Hayes III, said the stroke left the musician and actor 'in no position to resign under his own knowledge'. He also spoke about his belief that members of the Church of Scientology had stepped in and taken it upon themselves to remove Hayes from the show after the controversial episode. His comments came after Stone told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016: 'We knew in our hearts there was something way more going on. Isaac's a really sweet guy. We're still like, 'Isaac, you've got to come out of it'. But he's just brainwashed.' For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father @isaachayes left South Park. I'm here to set the record dad did not quit South Park. Scientology the episode 'Trapped in the Closet' aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few… — Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) July 18, 2025 This week he went on to release a lengthy statement about how he wanted to now 'set the record straight'. 'For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father @isaachayes left South Park. I'm here to set the record straight. My dad did not quit South Park. Scientology did,' he began the post, which was shared on X. 'After the episode Trapped in the Closet aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few months later that left him unable to speak or make decisions on his own. He was not in any condition to resign from anything. The truth is, someone else within his Scientology circle made that decision and quit the show for him. 'He loved being the voice of Chef. He loved the character. He loved connecting with fans. He would joke with people who recognized his voice, and he truly enjoyed being part of the show. 'The narrative that he quit because he was offended by the satire is not true. That was a cover story created by others. My father never got to speak for himself because his health robbed him of that chance.' He went on: 'So now I am speaking for him. He did not leave South Park willingly. He was forced out by illness and by people who did not have his best interest at heart. More Trending This is for anyone who loved Chef. This is for anyone who admired my father's work. This is the truth about what really happened.' Although the Church of Scientology has never publicly responded to the claims, Hayes told Cracked this week: 'I haven't had any connection with anybody from Scientology since before my father passed away.' Metro has contacted the Church of Scientology for comment. View More » South Park season 27 will stream on Comedy Central on July 23 . Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Netflix quietly adds 8 episodes of 'outrageous' thriller – and fans are devouring it MORE: TV soap legend Eileen Fulton died aged 91 MORE: TNA Slammiversary sees WWE icon, 48, return to calls for 'one more match'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kneecap Denies Supporting Hamas or Hezbollah: ‘We Condemn All Attacks on Civilians, Always'
Irish rap trio Kneecap posted a lengthy statement online Monday after their messages critiquing Israel at Coachella ignited controversy earlier this month. 'They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide,' began the group's statement shared on social media. 'Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation's history.' More from Rolling Stone Trump Shrinks, But Can't Shake Isaac Hayes Copyright Lawsuit 'Top Gun: Maverick' Writer's Cousin Says He Wrote 'Key Scenes' in New Lawsuit Suge Knight's Retrial Roller Coaster: How Did We Get Here? While critics have accused Kneecap of making statements in the past supporting the violent actions of Hamas and Hezbollah, the group denied this, alleging that any reports to this effect were the result of 'establishment figures' who 'combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral hysteria' in an attempt to silence the rap group. In the U.K., the trio has also been accused of inciting violence against members of Parliament; they denied this as well, and addressed the families of two murdered MPs, writing, 'We send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt.' Kneecap are from Belfast, in the north of Ireland, where sectarian violence claimed many lives before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. In their statement Monday, the band accused the British government of continuing 'to supply arms to Israel' and claimed 'the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine.' Kneecap reiterated that their 'message has always been — and remains — one of love, inclusion, and hope,' asserting that 'No smear campaign will change that.' Addressing their controversial festival performances, the group wrote, 'Days after calling out the US administration at Coachella to applause and solidarity, there is an avalanche of outrage and condemnation by the political classes of Britain.' 'The real crimes are not in our performances; the real crimes are the silence and complicity of those in power,' the band ended in their message. 'Shame on them.' During Kneecap's first Coachella performance, the group had planned to have several projections with messages about Gaza on them. However, the projections didn't make it onstage, and the set was cut short on Coachella's YouTube livestream. 'We only heard about it the next day and haven't heard from anyone officially,' band member Mo Chara told Rolling Stone at the time. The second weekend, the projections read, 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,' and were followed by, 'It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.' A final screen displayed the words 'Fuck Israel. Free Palestine,' and by the end of the set, the crowd was chanting 'Free Palestine.' The description of Israel's reprisals in Gaza after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as genocide has been highly contentious. Humanitarian groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have used that term, as have many others; former president Joseph R. Biden and the American Jewish Committee, among other groups that support Israel, have strongly objected to this framing. Kneecap's Coachella performances sparked outrage from pro-Israel groups, with organizations and public figures denouncing the group. Last week, Sharon Osbourne called for the band members' visas to be revoked, accusing their projections of promoting 'anti-Israel messages and hate speech.' When asked about Osbourne's tweets, Mo Chara responded, 'Her rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply, but she should listen to 'War Pigs' that was written by Black Sabbath (her husband).' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Irish Times
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Music Quiz: Which Dublin pub forms part of the title of a song on Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke's new album, Tall Tales?
Which is the correct spelling of this tongue-twisting song title by Isaac Hayes? Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymystic Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic Hyperbollixyllabicsesquedalymistic Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistik Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon is better known professionally as? Doja Cat Tyla Doechii PinkPantheress On The Flaming Lips 2020 album, American Head, which US singer featured on the song God and the Policeman? Miley Cyrus Billie Eilish Katy Perry Kacey Musgraves What is the title of The Specials' bass player Horace Panter's 2008 autobiography? Ska'd Stiff Ska Tactics Ska'd for Life Ska'd to Death Complete the title of the new album by Jenny Hval - Iris Silver ... Haze Fog Cloud Mist In 1993, the charity album Gimme Shelter featured covers of the titular Rolling Stones song. In one of rock music's most unlikely collaborations, which band did model/singer Samantha Fox perform the song with? New Model Army Hawkwind Heaven 17 Pop Will Eat Itself A lyric from the Pulp song, Bad Cover Version, references which Scott Walker solo album? Scott 3 Climate of Hunter 'Til the Band Comes In Scott 4 Which Dublin pub forms part of the title of a song on Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke's new album, Tall Tales? Davy Byrne's Stag's Head Leonard's Corner Slattery's On Stiff Little Fingers' 1980 album, Nobody's Heroes, which song on The Specials 1979 debut album (Specials) did they cover? Too Much Too Young A Message to You Rudy You're Wondering Now Doesn't Make It All Right Which part of London was coined in 1976 by Melody Maker music writer Caroline Coon as containing a pivotal gathering of the Sex Pistols' earliest fans? Brentford Brixton Bromley Brompton
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Usher review – glitzy Vegas-style spectacle is completely preposterous and preposterously entertaining
Early on during the first show of Usher's London residency, the audience is treated to the sight of the teenaged singer fantasising about playing London and 'thousands of people shouting my name'. It's presumably been flammed together for the occasion via the miracle of AI, but the point it's making about succeeding beyond one's wildest dreams is clear. More than 30 years into his career, Usher has sold out a staggering 10 nights at the O2: the crowd seems to be equally split between people old enough to remember his late 90s rise to fame and those you suspect may have first encountered his music through their parents playing it. As he skips between old-fashioned slow jams and the kind of EDM-influenced pop-R&B that temporarily held sway around 2010, you're struck by the sense that his longevity might be down to his ability to neatly assimilate whatever's currently vogueish into his own sound. His current world tour follows on the heels of two Las Vegas residencies, and a distinct hint of Vegas lurks around the show, both in its desire to cram as many songs as possible in – there are well over 40 tracks, or at least parts of them – and in its penchant for glitzy spectacle. Like Vegas itself, it's not really at home to subtlety. This is an evening in which Usher deploys his impassioned falsetto while rollerskating around the stage wearing a union jack suit; in which he underlines his loverman credentials by feeding ladies in the audience cocktail cherries; in which a pair of high-waisted trousers that appear to be made entirely out of studded belts teamed with a bare chest and a selection of chains and medallions Isaac Hayes might have considered a little de trop constitutes one of his more understated outfits. He wears it to perform one of the aforementioned old-school slow jams, Nice and Slow. 'I've got plans to put my hands in places I've never seen,' he sings: lest anyone mistakenly believe that means he's thinking of sticking them down the back of the radiator, he lubriciously caresses his privates, then pretends to have sex with his microphone stand. You have to say that he's wearing middle age incredibly well. The impassioned falsetto is fully intact and the bare chest draws appreciative female murmurs when it appears: at 46, and four children in, there's no hint of a dad bod. Moreover, it's a show that strikes a perfect balance: it's both completely preposterous – at one point, the big screens puzzlingly seem to suggest that Usher actually retired in his early 20s and what we're watching is some kind of computer-generated Usher replicant – and preposterously entertaining. You're certainly never bored: rather, you're left in little doubt he's at the top of his game, even as wonder what on earth he thinks he's playing at. Usher is the O2, London, until 7 May
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stax Music Academy's teen students mark 25th anniversary, Black History Month with concert
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis music studio where some of America's most recognizable songs were recorded decades ago is now a museum. But next door, trumpets blare, drums boom, and singers craft the soulful sounds of Stax Records' biggest hits. At Stax Music Academy, young musicians rehearse the unmistakable intro to 'Theme from Shaft,' the Isaac Hayes tour de force that won an Oscar in 1972 and tantalizes listeners with its pulsating bass line, crisp hi-hat and funky guitar. There's an air of professionalism among the students as their teacher hands out sheets of music and words of wisdom. 'Here we go. Read the ink that's on the paper. From the top, one, two, ready and …,' says Sam Franklin IV, the academy's music director. When they finish, Franklin says, 'Hey y'all, that was good.' Under the guidance of Franklin and other instructors, the students are practicing for three concerts in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday to celebrate Black History Month and the academy's 25th anniversary. Created in 2000, the academy is an after-school program for teens that teaches them to sing, dance and play instruments. Some pay nothing to attend. The academy has graduated more than 4,000 students since it started in the working-class neighborhood of Soulsville, where Stax Records produced soul and R&B classics in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 2008, every high school senior has been accepted to a college or university, many on full scholarships. The academy has performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and in Europe and Australia. Students take pride and joy in continuing the legacy of the influential record company, where Otis Redding cut '(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay,' Sam and Dave worked on 'Soul Man,' and The Staple Singers made 'Respect Yourself.' Other mainstays of the Stax catalog include Booker T. and the MGs, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett and Johnnie Taylor. Before it went bankrupt in 1975, Stax Records helped develop the raw, emotional Memphis Sound, driven by tight horn and rhythm sections, and strong-voiced singers. Some Stax songs were energetic and raucous, others smooth and sexy. Stax Records no longer churns out chart-topping music, although it still has a program for songwriters. The building has been converted into the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The Stax Music Academy group practicing on a rainy January evening includes both Black and white players. Before the work begins, some students joke around and dance in the hallway outside the rehearsal room, which boasts a high ceiling and a whiteboard with musical notes written on it. In a separate room, vocalists clap for each other as they take turns singing for their instructors. 'It's so fun," said Tatiyana Clark, a 17-year-old singer who joined the academy in 2023. "I've been in places where we would have the same interest in music, but nothing is like the connection that I have here. Honestly, it's a different level of friendship, when you have the exact same feelings towards music, the same experiences — almost.' Stax began online Black History Month presentations in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous programs have included specific themes, with this year's being the U.S. labor movement and how it involved and affected Black people, including work training, entrepreneurship and unionization. But this year's show is a series of in-person concerts at a downtown Memphis venue where attendees will hear Sam and Dave's 'Hold On, I'm Comin'', Arthur Conley's 'Sweet Soul Music,' and 'Cause I Love You,' by the father and daughter duet of Rufus and Carla Thomas. A companion study guide includes lessons and activities highlighting key figures and events that shaped labor policies and standards. 'It's all about the message for me,' said Johnathan Cole, an 18-year-old singer and songwriter. 'It feels good because with the world going crazy right now, everybody just needs a little bit of love, happiness and music. That's what Stax Music Academy has always been about: love, music, creativity." When the labor and civil rights movements were striving for racial equality and social justice, Booker T. and the MGs churned out 'Green Onions' and other toe-tapping instrumental songs, with Black men at organ and drums — Booker T. Jones and Al Jackson Jr. — and white players on lead and bass guitar — Steve Cropper and Donald 'Duck' Dunn. 'I would describe Stax as 'change,'" said Johnathan McKinnie, a 16-year-old piano and organ player. "It drastically changed how music was formed … It was definitely an advocate for civil rights.' In the vocalists' rehearsal room, the group is perfecting Eddie Floyd's song about luck and love, 'Knock on Wood." "It's like thunder, and lightning, the way you love me is frightening … better knock, knock, knock on wood,' three vocalists sing in harmony. 'Breathe. You're not breathing,'' one instructor tells a student, who smiles and nods. The exchange exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and dedication that permeates the academy. Pasley Thompson, a 17-year-old singer and songwriter, calls the academy "an escape from the every day.' 'Being able to be in a space with people that get you on a creative level, and on a personal level, because we're around each other all the time, it's a really great feeling to have,' she said. Adrian Sainz, The Associated Press
