Charlie Kirk Would Not Want His ‘South Park’ Episode Pulled, ‘Charlie Kirk Show’ Producer Insists
Charlie Kirk was many things in life — a firebrand conservative activist, a devoted father of two, and, it turns out, a South Park fan who enjoyed being parodied on the long-running Comedy Central satire.
The death of Kirk, who was shot dead at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University last week, has deepened partisan political division in the U.S. as President Donald Trump and others on the right are lionizing the late crusader for MAGA values. Meanwhile, commentators, journalists and media personalities have seen their jobs disappear after making critical comments about Kirk or the investigation into his murder.
The irony, of course, is that Kirk was a ride-or-die free speech advocate, which was demonstrated on his radio and web show over the past several years and at the speaking engagements he’d undertake on college campuses, where he encouraged students and faculty to openly debate issues with him in front of their peers. That First Amendment right is at the heart of South Park, which for decades has taken its non-partisan, no-one-escapes-unscathed approach to comedy to extreme and hilarious ends.
On Wednesday, The Charlie Kirk Show producer Andrew Colvet took to Twitter to remind the world that Kirk was a huge South Park fan and revealed that he loved the recent episode that mocked him. That entry into the show’s canon saw the show’s Eric Cartman styled as Kirk as he mimics the “debate me” gimmick the activist became known for to debate students. The episode was yanked from rerun rotation by Comedy Central in the wake of Kirk’s death, and Colvet insisted that this would not be OK’d by his late friend and colleagues
The 27th season of South Park has gone all-in on mocking the second Trump administration, with new spoofs of cabinet members and others in his orbit each week. The show introduced Trump as a key character as he sues the town for millions and woos Satan himself, eventually impregnating the dark lord, as was revealed at the end of the most recent episode. The season was scheduled to continue on Wednesday night on Comedy Central, but in a rare statement, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone indicated that the latest episode was not completed in time to air; it is expected to return next Wednesday in its regular 10 p.m. timeslot.
“Apparently when you do everything at the last minute, sometimes you don’t get it done. This one’s on us. We didn’t get it done in time. Thanks to Comedy Central and South Park fans for being so understanding. Tune in next week!” they wrote.
Comedy Central says the remaining six episodes of the ratings-shattering season will air as follows: Sept. 24, Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 12, Nov. 26 and Dec. 10.
