Being a South Park fan in 2025 can be challenging. Some of the worst people latch onto out-of-context satirical jokes they don’t understand, using them as weapons of hate.
I started watching the show in the late 90s when I was about 11. It’s grown with me, maturing, stumbling, and even falling along the way. South Park has always been unafraid to challenge the political landscape—rarely sticking to politeness or political correctness. In today’s world of 30-second clips, being a South Park fan can even be a bit embarrassing. I usually keep my fandom to myself to avoid long conversations most people wouldn’t care about. Still, I’ve seen every episode, and today, I’m proud to be a fan.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, took their signature shot at the highest level—aiming directly at the President of the United States. They’ve been critical of several presidents, including Trump, but they’ve often avoided fully exposing his insecurities—until now.
The why
Parker and Stone took shots at Trump during his first term, although they were drained by the end. Trump is a walking parody, thus making it difficult to write compelling satire. They even skipped making episodes during the last election because they just didn’t want to deal with it.
South Park remains relevant because they're addressing recent issues in the news. They usually make each episode in about six days, ensuring that their stories will always be topical. This can be especially challenging if you are tired of writing about Trump, someone who consumes so much of the world’s newscycles.
I expected Parker and Stone to completely avoid the president this season. His second term is so extreme and monstrous that I can’t imagine what they had to say, especially after their admitted Trump fatigue. They went in the complete opposite direction, and it is likely related to recent events.
Parker and Stone have consistently had problems with Paramount, the company that owns South Park. Paramount has been dealing with a lawsuit from Warner Bros over who gets to stream South Park. This has interfered with South Park’s production and what episodes are available to stream. At the same time, Paramount is trying to merge with Skydance, a process that Parker and Stone described as a “shit show.” The new owners changed the terms of South Park’s original deal and even meddled in potential deals with other streaming services.
On top of this, Trump was attempting to sue Paramount because of an interview with Kamala Harris. It is as ridiculous as you are imagining, but the merger needs to be approved by the FCC and guess who is in charge of the FCC. So, Paramount settles with Trump, offering him 16 million dollars and 20 million dollars worth of screen time through advertising, PSAs, etc.
Stephen Colbert, a popular late-night host, was critical of the settlement and was fired almost immediately after. Paramount claims financial reasons, but Colbert’s show had just been renewed and is still the most popular late-night show based on ratings.
Trump immediately celebrated the firing of Colbert and warned other late-night hosts they may follow. Anyone who is critical of Trump should pay attention to his warning.
Parker and Stone took note. Although they have grown over the years, they have consistently advocated for free speech. Several episodes of South Park are critical of government censorship.
Despite all of this, Parker and Stone are able to sign a new 1.5 billion dollar deal with Paramount before their new episode drops. Their quick turnaround on episodes allows them to immediately eviscerate Trump and the company who just gave them so much money.
Attack on Trump
South Park has been critical of Trump for years, but it would probably be considered high-brow when compared to what we got in the most recent episode. It was possible for people to view previous shots at Trump and not understand that they were critiques. This time, Parker and Stone made sure Trump would notice. They constantly joked about his small penis and even had him in a sexual relationship with Satan.
At the end of the episode they have a clip labeled PSA 01 out of 50 in which they show a deepfake live-action version of Trump walking through the dessert while stripping naked. They continue to joke about his penis while the voiceover praises Trump for making sacrifices for the people.
This is a reference to Paramount’s deal to give Trump additional PSA coverage. South Park’s new billion-dollar deal is for 50 episodes, so it seems they plan to have one of these for each episode from here on out.
Is the humor crass? Yes. Did I laugh? Also yes. Will this type of humor get Trump’s attention? Absolutely.
The real goal
The town of South Park sometimes works as a metaphor for modern society and the show itself. We see this in the newest episode. Eric Cartman, the most racist and evil child in the town, is upset because “woke” is dead. He doesn’t know where he belongs because everyone is doing the evil stuff he would usually do.
The town is also upset that Trump is a liar and acting more like an old South Park regular, Sadam Hussein. They attempt to protest against him.
Jesus Christ, another series regular, has been forced into the school. He mostly just walks around silently, but the townspeople notice the hypocrisy of Trump. He is pushing Jesus but doesn’t act anything like a Christian.
Eventually Jesus whispers to the townspeople to stop protesting Trump or they will be cancelled like Stephen Colbert. Meanwhile, Cartman has decided to kill himself because everything is so weird. He is trying to suffocate himself with an electric car, so it is taking longer than he wants. He also warns that he would kill himself if things weren’t solved by Tuesday. South Park airs on Wednesday. The last scene of the episode shows Cartman still waiting to die.
Parker and Stone are ready for their show to be cancelled. They know these are the type of insults that will draw Trump’s ire. This could be the last episode of South Park.
However, Parker and Stone don’t want to get cancelled exactly. They want Trump to sue Paramount again. Paramount just paid 1.5 billion dollars for South Park. Are they going to once again bend to Trump after making such a deal? Will they actually take Parker and Stone off the air when they are clearly desperate for South Park? This is a move about free speech, but it is also a move that is extremely petty.
It is honestly brilliant. South Park has always had something to say, and that hasn’t changed. Is this the end of South Park? Doubtful. But what a way to go out if it is.
Update:
Trump has surprisingly avoided social media after almost 24 hours, but the White House did respond:
“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…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.” -source
Parker and Stone don’t have plans for next week’s episode yet, but don’t be surprised if their episode reacts to the White House's responce.