Hours after Charlie Kirk was gunned down in front of a college crowd, Comedy Central quietly pulled down a controversial South Park episode that parodied the activist.
Netizens have been blaming the episode for fanning flames of hatred against Charlie and instigating his assassination.
Charlie himself had spoken about the episode before his slaying on Wednesday, September 10.
Highlights
- A South Park episode was blamed for inciting hatred against Charlie Kirk weeks before he was fatally shot.
- In the show’s Season 27, Episode 2 saw Eric Cartman parodying Charlie and adopting his mannerisms in a heated debate.
- Charlie himself spoke about the episode after it aired last month.
- “South Park certainly fomented the hatred necessary to get Kirk assassinated,” one claimed after the activist’s shooting.
Netizens blamed a South Park episode for inciting hatred against Charlie Kirk before he was gunned down
Image credits: Comedy Central UK
South Park’s Season 27, Episode 2, titled “Got a Nut” was scheduled for a re-run on Wednesday night.
But Comedy Central removed the re-run just hours after the Turning Point USA founder was gunned down in the student courtyard of the Utah Valley University.
No public statement was issued by the network, but they told news outlets that the episode was “temporarily pulled” from its cable lineup.
The episode, which first aired on August 6, is still available for streaming on Paramount+ with a subscription.
Image credits: Charlie Kirk/YouTube
The episode became a boiling point when viewers saw the character, Eric Cartman, parodying Charlie and adopting his mannerisms in a heated debate.
In the episode, the character also takes over a conservative podcast and “masterdebates” with people who disagree with him.
The final punch was delivered in the climax when Eric received the “Charlie Kirk Award for Young Masterdebaters.”
Comedy Central quietly pulled down a controversial South Park episode from its lineup
Image credits: Comedy Central UK
Although South Park has a long-held reputation for lambasting real-life figures, critics slammed the episode that aired about a month before Charlie was gunned down.
They also blamed creators Trey Parker Matt Stone for inciting hatred against the conservative activist.
Image credits: charliekirk11
“South Park certainly fomented the hatred necessary to get Kirk assassinated,” one said, while another wrote, “I am all for cancelling South Park in honor of Charlie.”
“Trey Parker and Matt Stone have blood on their hands. Remove South Park from all streaming services” read another comment.
“So this is how South Park is going to get cancelled,” read one comment online
Image credits: asrrMDM
Image credits: PolarBearLM
A Turning Point USA staff member even posted about the episode on Telegram.
“Comedy has consequences,” they said. “Charlie was targeted in the culture before he was targeted in real life.”
“South Park attacking Charlie Kirk’s college campus events and mocking his Christian faith just a few weeks ago,” Johnny MAGA, a popular account with nearly 250,000 followers, said online and wrote, “Monsters” alongside a clip from the episode.
When the episode first aired last month, Charlie himself acknowledged the mockery and found it “hilarious.”
He believed he had reached “viral, cultural domination” with South Park basing a character on his mannerisms.
“Now, there's going to be a lot said about this, but we need to have a good spirit about being made fun of,” he said in an August TikTok post.
“This is all a success, this is all a win. We as conservatives, we have thick skin, not thin skin. And you could make fun of us, it doesn't matter. And until next time, I hope all of you become ‘masterdebaters’ for truth,” he added.
Charlie himself spoke about the episode and claimed he had reached “viral, cultural domination”
Image credits: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The influential figure spoke about the episode to Fox News and said he grew up watching South Park in high school.
“Honestly, my first reaction was that I kinda laughed,” he said during the interview and called the show an “equal opportunity offender.”
Image credits: FOX 13 News Utah
“It’s kinda funny, and it kinda goes to show the cultural impact and the resonance that our movement has been able to achieve,” he added.
He saw the episode as a “badge of honor” and said, “We as conservatives should be able to take a joke, we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously – that’s something that the left has always done.”
During the college campus event in Utah this week, Charlie was conducting his signature “Prove Me Wrong” segment, where he would invite guests to debate him, when he met his violent fate.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an attendee asked Charlie.
“Too many,” he responded.
"Five," the audience member offered in response before asking, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Charlie asked.
Those were the activist’s final words before a bullet tore through his neck.
Blood gushed out of his wound, making him collapse from his chair and fall to the ground.
The US president announced on Friday that a suspect was in custody with help from his father
Image credits: Charlie Kirk/YouTube
The US president said on Friday morning that a suspect was taken into custody after “somebody very close to him turned him in.”
He told Fox News that the suspect was about 28 or 29 years old and was convinced by his father to go to law enforcement.
“With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” the president said.
Netizens criticized South Park for its episode featuring Charlie Kirk weeks before he was shot
