South Park vs Scientology

POSTED BY: AnthonyT
UPDATED: Monday, August 10, 2026 15:43
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ANTHONYT

Friday, March 31, 2006 1:15 AM

Tittle-Tattle™ Thu. March 30, 2006

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Scientologists Declare War on South Park: Where's George Clooney?
by Press Release
Mar 21, 2006

Los Angeles -- Reports indicate Church of Scientology and Tom Cruise pressured network to cancel a South Park show satirizing the Hollywood religion. Katharine DeBrecht -- author of "Help! Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper" -- condemns the actions as censorship and asks "Where's George Clooney now?"
Best-selling conservative children's author Katharine DeBrecht is pointing to recent reports of a conflict between the creators of the "South Park" cartoon and the Church of Scientology as yet more proof of Hollywood liberal hypocrisy, and she is pointing a finger at Oscar winner George Clooney in the process.

Recent reports in the respected trade magazine Daily Variety suggest that the Church of Scientology used its well known celebrity muscle to pressure Comedy Central into pulling an upcoming episode of "South Park" that satirized the religion. According to the publication, the clash between Scientology and the South Park creators is escalating in the wake of this latest move. The controversy first gained national attention earlier this week when Isaac Hayes, the voice of the popular character "Chef", quit over an episode mocking Scientology and its most famous adherent, Tom Cruise.

Daily Variety reports a rumor suggesting that Cruise stepped in at the request of the Church of Scientology, by saying he would refuse to help promote his upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible 3" unless the episode was pulled. Comedy Central is owned by Viacom, the media conglomerate that also owns Paramount, the studio behind the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

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"These reports, if true, smack of exactly the kind of strategy Muslims have been using in terms of the Mohammed cartoons -- stifling free speech because it sometimes offends religious beliefs, 'says best-selling children's author Katharine DeBrecht, whose new book "Help! Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper!" (Kids Ahead; hardcover: $15.95; ISBN 0976726912) also satirizes Scientology and Cruise, as well as a number of other Hollywood personalities. "While I am not a fan of 'South Park' -- and I certainly don't think it's an appropriate program for kids -- it's a show that has consistently skewered many religions, including Christianity and Judaism. What makes Scientology different? We must all defend the show's right to parody this religion and Tom Cruise, its most outspoken advocate.

"I also satirize Scientology and other trendy Hollywood religions in my new book as something called 'Toenailology,'" adds DeBrecht. "Does this mean the Church of Scientology will come after me next?" DeBrecht adds that Scientology -- which has many Hollywood stars and power brokers in its ranks, including John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Beck, Jenna Elfman, and Lisa Marie Presley -- teaches that humans can reach a godlike state, something she believes is opposed to traditional values.

"Where are George Clooney and his brave Hollywood friends?" notes DeBecht, chiding the outspoken liberal who made a particular point during the Oscars of patting himself on the back for having the courage to call Joseph McCarthy a bad guy -- 50 years and countless books and documentaries after the fact. "Here's censorship happening right under Hollywood's nose, but instead of confronting an actual free speech issue, all these brave liberals souls don't want to take on a clear violation of free speech when it involves a big-name actor who might be able to give them a job somewhere down the road."

About Kids Ahead: Kids Ahead is an imprint of Los Angeles-based World Ahead Publishing, the West Coast's leading publisher of conservative books. Visit http://www.helpmombooks.com to learn more.

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

SASSALICIOUS

Friday, March 31, 2006 6:15 AM

Didn't the guy that voiced Chef quit over the episode because he's a scientologist and the episode was making fun of it?

Which is totally hypocritical given that he made fun of other religions and didn't have a problem with it.

ORPHEUS

Friday, March 31, 2006 6:25 AM

Not to mention the fact that he didn't quit when the episode originally aired. Something fishy about that...

____________________
"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

RAILEAN

Friday, March 31, 2006 6:32 AM

Like my father says, "It's alright to make fun of other people but you can't make fun of me."

It was all fine for Isaac Hayes to be a part of all those episoide that made fun of other religions but the moment you make fun of his it's personal.

I say that we, as fans of South Park, boycot MI:3. It is we fans that make the movies money and if they want to act like petty little 3 year olds then we should treat them as such.

SIGMANUNKI

Friday, March 31, 2006 6:55 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Railean:

I say that we, as fans of South Park, boycot MI:3. It is we fans that make the movies money and if they want to act like petty little 3 year olds then we should treat them as such.

I don't think that anyone has to be a South Park fan to boycott MI:3. You just have to have an apprecitation for what makes an MI. Which wasn't in the second one because Tom Cruise has no talent and had control of that one. So, if he has control of this one, how good could it really be?

Don't get me wrong, from an action movie point of view, MI:2 was ok. But, taking into account what is expected from a MI movie (like the first movie) MI:2 was rather lacking to say the least.

I for one won't be giving MI:3 any money for that reason alone. This South Park thing is, for me, something that just gets added to the list.

Tom Cruise

----
"We're in a giant car heading into a brick wall at 100 miles/hr and everybody's arguing about where they want to sit."
-David Suzuki

ANTHONYT

Friday, March 31, 2006 4:22 PM

Most Memorable Bad Scene, MI2:

Motorcycle 1 approaches Motorcycle 2.

Motorcycles are travelling at least 30 MPH.

Occupants of Motorcycles leap up and collide.

Occupants of Motorcycles experience a relative impact of at least 60MPH.

Occupants of Motorcycles fall.

Occupants of Motorcycles get up and do Kung-Fu.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

CHRISISALL

Friday, March 31, 2006 4:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:

Occupants of Motorcycles get up and do Kung-Fu.

Well, my motorcycle went down at about 35 MPH on an ice patch and slid for 20 feet, and I got right up that second to raise my bike and see how bad the winshield was smashed. I could have also started to do Kung-Fu if necessary. Adreneline can do a lot!
(Okay, it doesn't keep bones from breaking, but it's an action movie, man. You want reality, watch Last Action Hero

)

Daredevil Chrisisall

SIGMANUNKI

Friday, March 31, 2006 5:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

Well, my motorcycle went down at about 35 MPH on an ice patch and slid for 20 feet, and I got right up that second to raise my bike and see how bad the winshield was smashed. I could have also started to do Kung-Fu if necessary. Adreneline can do a lot!
(Okay, it doesn't keep bones from breaking, but it's an action movie, man. You want reality, watch Last Action Hero )

I'm with AnthonyT on this one. Even if it's an action movie, there are still some things that you just can't do because they take away from the fantasy by being really really not real. That scene crossed that line by leaps and bounds.

Again, let's all remember MI the original.

----
"We're in a giant car heading into a brick wall at 100 miles/hr and everybody's arguing about where they want to sit."
-David Suzuki

CHRISISALL

Friday, March 31, 2006 6:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SigmaNunki:

I'm with AnthonyT on this one. Even if it's an action movie, there are still some things that you just can't do because they take away from the fantasy by being really really not real. That scene crossed that line by leaps and bounds.

If you want to go there, Tom doing that running kick/back flip in the hallway came closer to that for me (besides, they cut the endless scene of Cruise in the hospital with cracked ribs, ruptured spleen, and skull fracture; it slowed the pace at the end....

)
The first MI flick was definitly a better 'MI' movie, but I found MI2 highly entertaining for what it was.

Downshifting Chrisisall

BROWNCOAT1

Friday, March 31, 2006 6:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Sassalicious:
Didn't the guy that voiced Chef quit over the episode because he's a scientologist and the episode was making fun of it?

Which is totally hypocritical given that he made fun of other religions and didn't have a problem with it.

Yep, he did.

Definitely hypocritical since he was fine making fun of other religions, but the second they poke fun at his he quits & Tom & his scientologist buddies use their underhanded tactics to have the episode pulled.

What a crock.

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