Honestly, I had no idea he had any connection to the show. Apparently, he did, but that is no longer the case.
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) — Soul singer Isaac Hayes said Monday he was quitting his job as the voice of the lusty character “Chef” on the satiric cable TV cartoon “South Park,” citing the show’s “inappropriate ridicule” of religion.
But series co-creator Matt Stone said the veteran recording artist was upset the show had recently lampooned the Church of Scientology, of which Hayes is an outspoken follower.
Ah yes, I remember the Scientology episode. Perhaps some of the best satire South Park has ever done. Lampooning a ridiculous cult and the best line to come out of television in years….”Tom Cruise, come out of the closet.”
Apparently, Isaac didn’t like this very much.
In a statement explaining his departure from the show, Hayes, 63, did not mention last fall’s episode poking fun at Scientology and some of its celebrity adherents, including actor Tom Cruise.
Rather, Hayes said the show’s parody of religion in general was part of what he saw as a “growing insensitivity toward personal spiritual beliefs” in the media, including the recent controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad.
“There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs … begins,” Hayes said.
Okay, I might have believed this if the Mohammed cartoons hadn’t been mentioned. Give me a break. Its pardody. Satire. If you can’t take it, the you’ve obviously got a problem.
Comedy Central spokesman Tony Fox said producers have not decided whether Chef would be dropped from the show or continued with another actor supplying his voice.
Knowing South Park, I’m sure they’ll come up with something quite inventive.
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