Isaac Hayes Quits “South Park” over Scientology Satire

In any contest for the title of "World’s Coolest Man," Isaac Hayes is a top contender. Heck, the man wrote the theme to “Shaft.” He is also the voice of Chef on the raunchy cartoon “South Park.” At least, he was until the show took a swipe at Scientology, which is Mr. Hayes preferred faith.

In an episode titled, “Trapped in the Closet” the Church of Scientology crosses paths with the foul-mouthed kids of South Park, and Stan winds up dealing with Scientologists Tom Cruise, R. Kelly and John Travolta. At the end, Stan announces, “Scientology is just a big fat global scam.” This sets the others off, and he dares them to sue – episode ends.

Mr. Hayes did not participate in this episode, and he said he talked to the shows creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and told them, “Guys, you have it all wrong. We’ve not like that. I know that’s your thing, but get your information correct, because somebody might believe that shit, you know? But I understand what they’re doing. I told them to take a couple of Scientology courses, and understand what we do.” Mr. Hayes then quit the show saying, “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins. Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.”

Mr. Stone answered that Mr. Hayes was, essentially, full of shit. “He has no problem -- and he’s cashed plenty of checks -- with our show making fun of Christians . . . [we] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin.” Like gentlemen, though, Messrs. Parker and Stone agreed to let Mr. Hayes out of his contract.

Now, having a religion spring from the writings and philosophy of sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard is as credible as having it spring from the mouths of Semitic shepherds millennia ago (although is does show appalling taste in science fiction). Satire is, by its nature, insulting to its target. However, Mr. Hayes needs to ask himself how the show creators could mock the philosophy about which they know very little. Instead, could it be they were mocking the behavior of the adherents of Scientology, who like Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists and the rest of the human family occasionally act like jackasses because they are humans? Odin, help us.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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