South Park pulled its Charlie Kirk episode from airing, but his close aide and producer of his show says Kirk loved his feature in the long-running show. The August 6 episode of the show, Got a Nut, featured central character Cartman donning Kirk’s hairstyle and debating students on politics. However, when Kirk was assassinated, Comedy Central pulled the episode from its linear rotation.
The episode on Charlie Kirk was the latest in the line of South Park episodes that mocked Donald Trump and his MAGA allies. According to Andrew Kolvet, Kirk would have wanted the episode to continue airing. The episode remains currently available on Paramount+. Kolvet shared on X:
Hey @paramountplus, as someone who can speak with some authority on this, Charlie loved that he was featured in South Park. He told me many times. He would want the episode back up.
The show also delayed its planned fifth episode from airing on Wednesday night. It was supposed to be the first episode since the fatal shooting of Kirk at Utah Valley University by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone addressed the delay in a statement (via THR):
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!
The episode on Kirk did get criticism from the MAGA fans after his shooting. They blamed the show for bringing unnecessary attention to the conservative political activist. This statement from Kolvet helps the show to ward off such criticism. However, Jimmy Kimmel, who made a statement against MAGA allies after Kirk’s death, is facing severe consequences.
Charlie Kirk Had a Positive Reaction to South Park Mocking Him
The late Charlie Kirk found the South Park episode hilarious and shared his reaction to the episode on TikTok. He shared that the show “gets this right” and added, “We have a good spirit about being made fun of. This is all a win. We as conservatives have thick skin, not thin skin, and you can make fun of us and it doesn’t matter.”
@ComedyCentral Pulling the Charlie Kirk South Park episode isn't what Charlie would have wanted.
It's what the people celebrating his death want. pic.twitter.com/o0OZGYpULX
He also proudly posted the clip from the episode where Cartman imitates him and makes jokes at his expense.
Folks, I present to you The Charlie Kirk Award. pic.twitter.com/ToindwWIBI
He later addressed the South Park episode during an interview with Fox News. He shared that his first reaction to the episode was laughter, adding that he was a lifelong fan of the show. He shared that the episode showed the cultural impact and resonance of his movement. The Turning Point USA founder shared:
Honestly, my first reaction is that I kinda laughed. They’re going to obviously make fun of me… but I think it’s kind of funny and it kind of goes to show the cultural impact and the resonance that our movement has been able to achieve. We as conservatives should be able to take a joke. We shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously.
His reaction was far different from Trump’s, who was left seething over his depiction of being in bed with Satan. Kirk went on to change the profile picture of The Charlie Kirk Show on Instagram and TikTok to that of Cartman’s impression of him.
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say About Charlie Kirk that Got His Show Suspended?
While Charlie Kirk’s aide has spoken in support of South Park and the show’s free speech, Jimmy Kimmel faces consequences for his comments on Charlie Kirk. His show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was indefinitely suspended over his comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. During the episode that aired on September 15, Kimmel shared in his monologue:
We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
His comments came across as insensitive, and ABC suspended the program from airing until further notice. A statement from the network read, “We are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform” (via USA Today).
Immediately after the assassination, Kimmel took to Instagram and asked people to stop with the “angry finger-pointing.” He shared:
Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just, for one day, agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.
In his monologue, Kimmel also mocked Trump’s reaction to Kirk’s death. He went on to share a video where Kimmel claimed that Trump was unbothered by the news.
What do you think of Kirk’s producer’s take on the pulling of the South Park episode? Let us know in the comments below!