From controversial religious commentary to inappropriate racial humor, South Park has never shied away from pushing boundaries. Join us as we look at the animated series' most shocking and controversial moments that had viewers questioning if the show went too far.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the jokes, portrayals,
00:10and running gags on South Park that went a little too far.
00:18Number 20.
00:19Dum-Dum-Dum-Dum-Dum A new family moves into town and it turns
00:23out they're really nice.
00:25At school, Stan is selected to beat up the new kid Gary, but finds him so likable that
00:30he can't do it.
00:40Gary invites Stan over to their house for dinner, and Stan finds out that Gary's family
00:45are Mormon.
00:46They eventually teach Stan what their religion is about by recounting the story of Joseph
00:50Smith.
00:51While the events surrounding Smith depicted are factual, it's framed in a mocking tone.
01:06Stan starts to be at odds with some of the Mormon teachings and equates those who follow
01:11it as being less than intelligent.
01:13Number 19.
01:14Virgin Mary Statue After Randy is pulled over for drinking under
01:18the influence, he's mandated to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for two weeks.
01:35There he learns that his drinking is a result of him having a disease that he's powerless
01:40to control without giving himself to a higher power.
01:44However, the most contentious part of this episode is a statue of the Virgin Mary that
01:49begins to bleed.
01:50The event is initially described as a miracle and Randy believes that he will be healed
01:55by the statue.
02:04Those of the Catholic faith were not happy with the show's depiction of Mary and tried
02:08to have the episode permanently retired.
02:11Number 18.
02:12Curse Words The townsfolk of South Park are excited because
02:15the show Cop Drama is going to utter a curse word, shit, during its broadcast for the first
02:21time in television history.
02:25Kyle is the only one who doesn't care because he sees it as just a word with no real importance.
02:32The episode keeps a running counter at the bottom of the screen for each time the word
02:35is said and it ends up being uttered 162 times, uncensored.
02:48The gratuitous use of the expletive did upset some viewers, although the use of profanity
02:53is nothing new for South Park.
02:56Number 17.
02:57Abortion At the end of Season 5, Kenny tragically dies.
03:01Cartman, however, would end up drinking his ashes, mistakenly believing them to be chocolate
03:06milk mix.
03:09This causes Kenny's soul to be housed in his body.
03:12Cartman starts to experience memories from his deceased friend.
03:15Once he's made aware of the fact that he drank Kenny's ashes, he decides that he has
03:20to have the soul removed from his body.
03:22This brings him to unplanned parenthood.
03:38Cartman's callous demeanor at the whole process is fairly tasteless at what is a serious subject.
03:44Number 16.
03:46Tunnel of Prejudice When Garrison returns to teaching the fourth
03:49grade, Mr. Slave is brought in as a ploy for Garrison to get fired.
04:06Naturally the students are confused by Garrison's actions in class.
04:11When Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Butters and Tweek bring their concerns to their parents, they
04:15believe the boys are being discriminatory to Garrison and Mr. Slave.
04:19So they decide a trip to the Museum of Tolerance is in order.
04:24Once there, the boys go through the Tunnel of Prejudice, an exhibit consisting of racial
04:29epithets being uttered.
04:30While the use of slurs is bad enough, perhaps even more troubling is Cartman's excitement
04:35towards hearing them.
04:38Number 15.
04:40Bass Guitar Cartman is convinced that he can get a platinum
04:43album before Stan, Kyle and Kenny by playing Christian rock.
04:48To form his band, Eric enlists the help of Tolkien as the bass player.
05:02He doesn't do this because Tolkien is good at bass, but simply relying on the fact that
05:05Tolkien is black and therefore must be good at bass.
05:09Cartman is proven right as Tolkien can effortlessly play the instrument despite having no prior
05:14experience.
05:15Throughout the episode, Cartman directs his prejudices towards Tolkien, who lashes out
05:20after reaching his limits.
05:32Number 14.
05:33Paris Hilton If you end up in South Park's crosshairs,
05:37the results often aren't pretty.
05:40Paris Hilton's depiction in the show is particularly egregious.
05:46Hilton is in town to open up a new store for the girls in the town to be like her.
05:51Wendy is dismayed as she sees Hilton as a poor role model for young, impressionable
05:56minds.
05:57Many of the episode's jokes portray Hilton as rude, obnoxious and very promiscuous.
06:02She pretty much abducts Butters to keep as a pet after her dogs keep taking their own
06:07lives.
06:09Hilton eventually gets into a showdown with Mr. Slave, where she meets an unfortunate
06:13end.
06:14Number 13.
06:21Starting COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on the world, but the origins of the virus
06:27are unclear.
06:28South Park offers its own version of how it started.
06:48While watching the news, Randy finds out that scientists have been able to trace the virus
06:53to a bat in Wuhan, but they're confused about how it could transfer species.
06:58We then get a flashback to when Randy was in China with Mickey Mouse, and see their
07:03debaucherous night with a bat.
07:04Later, it's revealed that the virus actually came from a pangolin, and again, we get another
07:09flashback of Randy and Mickey.
07:11The depictions of both of them being intimate with these creatures crosses way too many
07:16lines.
07:26Number 12.
07:27AIDS Is Finally Funny Former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle visits
07:31South Park to promote weight loss.
07:46This was before Fogle would be convicted of heinous crimes.
07:50In the episode, he reveals that he had help losing weight from assistants, but uses the
07:55word AIDS.
07:56But those around him think he's referring to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or
08:01AIDS.
08:02This wordplay is used throughout the episode, where Fogle declares that he wants to give
08:06everyone assistants to help them lose weight, but people assume he wants to give them AIDS.
08:19In the end, the misunderstanding is cleared up, and it's decided that enough time has
08:23passed for AIDS to now be declared funny.
08:26Although not everyone feels that way.
08:29Number 11.
08:30Depictions of Muhammad Arguably, one of the most contentious subjects
08:34in the show's history is its commentary about the depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
08:53In the framework of the show, Family Guy is going to depict Muhammad uncensored in
08:58an episode.
08:59This leads the townsfolk to cower in fear, anticipating a violent response from angry
09:04Muslims.
09:05Although the episode was meant to be a commentary on censorship, Comedy Central decided to omit
09:10scenes that contained Muhammad.
09:13In later episodes where Muhammad is a featured character, he is only seen as a black censor
09:18bar or is concealed.
09:26Number 10.
09:27Gingers If there's a group of people that Cartman
09:30despises just as much as hippies and anyone who celebrates Judaism, it's anybody that
09:36has freckles and red hair.
09:51In addition to Cartman's constant bashing of them, their portrayal on the show was not
09:56so positive, frequently shown as being frail and somewhat creepy.
10:08The episode, Gingers, even inspired Kick a Ginger Day, a holiday high schoolers created
10:14so that they have a reason to physically torment students with red hair.
10:17The most offensive moment on the show may have been Cartman being distraught not because
10:23he realized he murdered his own father, but that he, in fact, had red hair.
10:36Number 9.
10:38Special Olympics Cartman pretending to have a disability in
10:44order to compete at the Special Olympics will go down as one of the most despicable things
10:48he's ever done.
10:50He goes so far as to adopt what he believes are their mannerisms and even wears a disguise.
10:56It's all super wrong and shows a complete lack of respect on his part.
11:01The worst part may have been having his mom vouch for him when they register for the event,
11:06which doesn't go too well.
11:09Fortunately, his plan completely backfires as he struggles in all of the events and comes
11:17in last place.
11:21Number 8.
11:22Steve Irwin At his Halloween party, Satan confronts someone
11:28who he believes to be wearing a Steve Irwin costume.
11:32But the man reveals himself to actually be Steve Irwin.
11:39Realizing he's not actually wearing a Halloween costume, Satan promptly gets him kicked out.
11:44This brief exchange could be seen as problematic for so many reasons.
11:49The way the character is drawn and the fact that he is in hell.
11:52Irwin's wife, Terry, was reportedly very upset by the portrayal.
11:56The most ironic thing about this joke was that Satan and everyone at the party thought
12:00the idea of someone dressing up as Steve Irwin was offensive.
12:04Which it very much is, but that point gets lost in true South Park fashion.
12:09Number 7.
12:10Japan The Japanese were definitely not happy with
12:17this one.
12:18In the season 2 episode Chinpokomon, the Japanese are portrayed as hungry warmongers set on
12:24taking over the United States.
12:26Through Chinpokomon, an obvious parody of Pokemon, they hope to brainwash children in
12:31America to join their cause.
12:37The mannerisms and over-the-top accent of the Japanese on the show can most certainly
12:42draw the ire of certain viewers.
12:44But the worst part was when, on multiple occasions, they claim to have small genitalia in an attempt
12:51to fool the American characters.
12:53And this wouldn't be the last time the show took shots at the Japanese.
13:01Number 6.
13:02China The creators of South Park have never shied
13:06away from taking digs at China.
13:08This is on full display in this season 12 episode.
13:12Fearing that the country of China will invade the United States, Cartman decides to take
13:16matters into his own hands.
13:18How might you ask?
13:19By pretending to be Chinese and infiltrating a local PF Chang's.
13:27The way Cartman dresses and pretends to be Chinese is just super offensive, and it's
13:33hard to see how this would fly today.
13:40That wouldn't be the only offensive joke in this episode though.
13:45Attempting to show what the creators of South Park believe Steven Spielberg and George Lucas
13:49did to the beloved Indiana Jones franchise with the release of Kingdom of the Crystal
13:54Skull, they depicted the titular character being assaulted by the two filmmakers.
14:03Number 5.
14:04People Who Annoy You With apologies to Jesse Jackson, was a critically
14:11acclaimed episode, being praised for its moral compass and exploration of the significance
14:16behind the use of the N-word in society.
14:19However, the inciting incident and joke that gets the episode's plot rolling is just
14:24about as brutal as it gets.
14:28While this is not the joke's ultimate punchline, Brandy's use of the word and the joke itself
14:34is still very much offensive.
14:36It strikes a nerve with everyone in town and he ultimately becomes alienated.
14:40Brandy's mishap is just straight up awful and as big of a fail as it gets.
14:56Number 4.
14:57Rich People Season 5's Here Comes the Neighborhood sees
15:01affluent rich African Americans move to the city of South Park.
15:05One of the episode's two central plots centers on several residents who are not happy about
15:10this and so they take several measures to steer them away from the town.
15:22While they state that they don't like them because they are rich, it's hard to see
15:26it that way and we can't help but see a very dark double entendre.
15:41Add in the fact that the town dresses up as ghosts to scare them away and then it all
15:46begins to feel so wrong.
15:52By the episode's end, Garrison reveals that all of this was done for the worst reason
15:57possible.
15:58Number 3.
15:59Cartman Shoots Tolkien The World War Zimmerman episode from Season
16:0717 somehow finds a way to combine and parody both World War Z and the Trayvon Martin incident
16:13together into one wild and zany episode.
16:16Near the end, Cartman confronts Tolkien and while it initially seems like he wants to
16:20make amends, he instead proceeds to shoot him.
16:24While the joke and the episode itself serve to highlight the unfairness and hypocrisy
16:29of the justice system, considering the controversy surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin and
16:34police violence towards African Americans, the joke can be deemed as somewhat insensitive.
16:48Number 2.
16:49Cartman's Worst Costume and Fan Club Ever Cartman dressed up as the German dictator
16:54Hitler, not once, but twice.
17:01The first time, Principal Victoria tries to fix this by giving him a ghost costume.
17:05And we all know what that usually ends up looking like instead in South Park.
17:15The second time around, although not donning the mustache, he wears the costume again when
17:20leading the Mel Gibson fan club.
17:23The clueless members who join the group are oblivious to Cartman's true intentions and
17:27simply follow along.
17:30The joke was clearly intended to show the naivety of these individuals, but it was offensive
17:35nonetheless.
17:36And if that wasn't bad enough, they never actually realize what they're doing.
17:41begin to suspect how problematic the club really is after seeing how bonkers Mel Gibson
17:47is in person.
17:53Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
17:57about our latest videos.
17:58You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
18:02If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
18:08Number 1.
18:10Canada, where to begin?
18:11South Park has taken shots at Canadians time and time again in several episodes.
18:20The South Park movie's central plot even focuses on a conflict between the United States
18:25and the neighboring country.
18:29On the show, Canadians are portrayed as goofy characters with a supposed heavy, stereotypical-like
18:35Canadian accent.
18:40Throughout the series, everything from their politics and weddings is shown as either abnormal
18:44or strange.
18:50The show's portrayal of the country and its inhabitants is one of the longest-running
18:54gags on the show, and it is anything but flattering to say the least.
18:59Which South Park joke do you find the most offensive?
19:01Let us know in the comments.