A rerun of a recent South Park episode spoofing conservative pundit Charlie Kirk was reportedly pulled from airing on Comedy Central on Wednesday night (Sept. 10) in the hours immediately following Kirk’s death.
Season 27, Episode 2, “Got A Nut,” which aired for the first time on Aug. 6, features the following logline: “When Mr. Mackay loses his job, he desperately tries to find a new way to make a living.” Kirk is parodied via the character of Eric Cartman (voiced by series co-creator Trey Parker), who in the episode, sports a similar haircut and is seen “master-debating.”
“Watch as Eric Cartman shuts down these woke liberal students,” he reads as he pours protein powder into a water bottle and begins to debate people online.
Like all episodes of the animated comedy, the episode kicks off with the following disclaimer: “All events and characters in this show — even those based on real people — are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated… poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone.”
Per The U.S. Sun, the episode was slated to air again at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night on Comedy Central, but was swapped for Season 27, Episode 3, “Sickofancy.” The episode is still available to stream on Paramount+.
DECIDER reached out to a representative for the series for comment.
Kirk, who co-founded the conservative organization Turning Point USA in 2012, was fatally shot on Wednesday (Sept. 10) while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University, per the Associated Press. He was 31. According to Turning Point USA’s website, the event was part of the organization’s “The American Comeback Tour.”
According to The Daily Beast, Kirk had seemingly embraced the episode, posting the promo video for the episode on X on July 29, writing, “I’m so watching this.” Once the episode aired, Kirk shared a clip on X, writing, “Not bad, Cartman” with two laughing emojis.
Thus far, four episodes of South Park Season 27 have been released. Newsweek reports that tonight’s Comedy Central episode slate will resemble that of last night, with Season 27, Episode 1, “Sermon on the ‘Mount” airing at 12 a.m., and “Sickofancy” following at 12:30. Other episodes from various seasons will air afterward.
The same episode also made headlines for featuring Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shooting a puppy. Noem criticized the series for making fun of her appearance on The Glenn Beck Program, saying that “it’s so lazy to make fun of women for how they look.”