No more Chef on South Park

[Glitch]

http://articles.news.aol.com/tv/article.adp?id=20060313163309990010


NEW YORK (March 13) - Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.

Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

"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," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem - and he's cashed plenty of checks - with our show making fun of Christians."

Last November, "South Park" targeted the Church of Scientology and its celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, in a top-rated episode called "Trapped in the Closet." In the episode, Stan, one of the show's four mischievous fourth graders, is hailed as a reluctant savior by Scientology leaders, while a cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won't come out.

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "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."
:(

[ShadowTiger]

Now nobody will lick his chocolate salted balls ever again. :shakeno:


A few Chefy Moments:

Kids: Hey Chef! Is it okay to kill your grandpa?
Chef: No, kids, you can't do that! He's already dead!

Chef: Hello Children!
Kids: Hey Chef! The priest said he wanted to stick something up my ass. What is it?
Chef: ... Goodbye Children! *Walks away*

(May not be 100% accurate quotes.)

[Darth Marsden]

I read about this while browsing the official South Park site for screengrabs I could use on some custom DVD covers. It's a shame, but the show can live without him. There's only (whisper it) three more series left on Matt & Trey's contract with Comedy Central, so I suppose they'll do without him, although it won't be the same without hearing him sing things like:

"Sometimes you kill your teacher, and they find your semen in her stomach" Series 6, Episode 7 - The Simpsons Did It Already

"And she says 'Hold on a minute I gotta go to the bathroom', so you wait and you wait and you wait and you wait, and you wait and you wait and you wait, and she's still going to the bathroom..." Can't remember which episode that one was

And of course, his immortal speach to Stan when Kenny died...


Stan, sometimes God takes those closest to us, because it makes him feel better about himself. He is a very vengeful God, Stan. He's all pissed off about something we did thousands of years ago. He just can't get over it, so he doesn't care who he takes. Children, puppies, it don't matter to him, so long as it makes us sad. ... Well, look at it this way: if you want to make a baby cry, first you give it a lollipop. Then you take it away. If you never give it a lollipop to begin with, then it would have nothin' to cry about. That's like God, who gives us life and love and help just so that he can tear it all away and make us cry, so he can drink the sweet milk of our tears. You see, it's our tears, Stan, that give God his great power.

[gdorf]

What a hypocrite. He's never had a problem making fun of Christians, Muslim, Mormons or Jews, yet Scientology is off limits?

I think they should have an episode where chef, played by a different actor, wages war against the Church of Scientology.

Lame.

[Beldaran]

religion blows cock

[Masamune]

Or Chef turns into a skinny white Jew.

[VT_Hokie_Fan]

What a hypocrite. He's never had a problem making fun of Christians, Muslim, Mormons or Jews, yet Scientology is off limits?

If you can't laugh at yourself, you can't laugh at anybody. I'm a mormon, but I found the mormon episode of South Park absolutely histerical. I guess he didn't feel the same way...

Oh well, the show will live on without Chef. Unless the person who voices Cartman leaves, I wouldn't worry.

[algam86]

Couldn't they just make Kyle grow up for that? What fun is Chef if he's a skinny, white Jew? Besides, he's, like, the only funny black guy on the show. Leave him. Heck, he's probably the ONLY black guy on the show... (that was about Masamune's comment, but VT beat me to the post...)

Hayes should know by now that, on South Park, anything that affects a lotta people is gonna be made fun of. It's, like, what the entire show is made of. And it's funny...to me.

[Darth Marsden]

Or Chef turns into a skinny white Jew.Actually, in the universe where Evil Cartman is from, Chef is a skinny white insurance salesman.

I predict that we'll be seeing him at some point in the next year or so.

EDIT: Also, when Chef quits and almost gets married to a Succubus, he's replaced by a skinny white guy called Mr Dirp. "When I'm in the kitchen, you never know what nutty things are gonna happen. If you like Chef, you're gonna love Mr. Dirp. ... I have yellow stuff or white stuff. Dirp!"

EDIT2: Some of his best stuff in mp3 format. (http://www.southparkstuff.com/audio/chefsongs.shtml) Check out the other 'Audio' stuff, it's surprising what you can get away with these days, such as this great song by the man himself (http://www.csps.flyer.co.uk/christmasclassics/11hanky.mp3).

[Cloral]

They were already phasing him out anyway. The last few seasons he showed up really infrequently.

But what a hypocrite. Ragging on Christianity and Judiism is fine, but not Scientology.

On the subject though, did you know that "Bloody Marry" has been banned by the network? That was the last episode of the last series where the statue bleeds out its ass. Apparently they got a lot of letters. Which made me wonder, why are right-wing people who get offended like that watching the show in the first place?

Another thing to consider is they could always hire someone else to do his voice. The woman who did the mayor's voice is no longer with the show but they still have that character from time to time.

[Masamune]

I was thinking more along the lines of something turns him into a skinny white guy and he gets killed somehow like some unimportant character. Like Ms. Chokesondick.

[biggiy05]

On the subject though, did you know that "Bloody Marry" has been banned by the network? That was the last episode of the last series where the statue bleeds out its ass. Apparently they got a lot of letters. Which made me wonder, why are right-wing people who get offended like that watching the show in the first place?

They want something they can bitch about and they see that show as a perfect target among others.

[Gerudo]

stupidity infects people like wildfire. they have these watchdog faggots that watch raunchy tv shows like SP or the superbowl (where about 75% of the population younger than 10 and older than 14 saw a tit for the very first time), all the while taking articulate notes about what they don't like. honestly, if we didn't have show's like SP, what the fuck would we laugh at, aside from George W BlunderBush and Getsdick N Thechinny?

[Jigglysaint]

It's funny how we are so willing to mock other's beliefs, but when it comes to ours, we wish to incure the wrath of God among them. It took Scientology for Chef to re-consider who he's working for. It's easy to mock others, because they always seem so weird and different. I've never seen the mormon episode, but I know it's a mockery, so I am not so worried about it. If I were in Chef's place though, I'd get annoyed too.

But honestly, it's South Park. How could anybody not think that they arn't going to make fun of somthing sacred to them at one point? I mean, it's aboot time people woke up and realized Trey and co ARE jackasses, and that SP IS supposed to be like that.

BTW, I don't watch it anymore, but somehow the movie still has a place in my heart. I think it's the Uncle Fucka song.

[Masamune]

mean, it's aboot time people woke up and realized Trey and co ARE jackasses, and that SP IS supposed to be like that.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are fucking awesome. :O

Check out some of their other stuff, Jigglemuff.

Cannibal: The Musical
Orgazmo
BaseketBall
Team America World Police.

[Lilith]

What a fgt. I hope they make him rue this day.

[mrz84]

I heard about this when I was watching tv the other day... sad to see chef's original actor leave, but, there's nothing one can do to change someone's mind when its made up...

[Lutraphobiac]

I've never seen the mormon episode, but I know it's a mockery, so I am not so worried about it.

Actually in that episode they jab right back at credicts of Mormons at the end. Sure they made fun of some of the beliefs, but they seemed to show some respect for the people themselves in the religion.

I don't see South Park as against religion, but against the ignorance it tends to create.


As to the topic: Respect for Isaac Hayes has gone down 10 points :(

[koopa]

So, uh, "the chef" makes fun of religions and earns money for it, then his own religion gets its turn and he leaves? So much for a sense of humour.

I'm a religious person myself but I don't mind people making fun of religion. I mean, it's south park, for God's sake. What did anyone expect?

[ShadowTiger]

Trey Parker is gay. - "I hear that, man. I hear that."
Bill Gates's penis is small. - "He's Microsoft. ;)"
Jennifer Lopez Is A Whore. - "Haha! So true. I'd **** that sh**.
Isaac Hayes doesn't believe in God. - "I ... Hey. :("

Same basic concept. Some people can dish, but they can't take. :shrug:

[theplustwo]

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone should just end South Park and move on.

[Dark_Cloud]

Wow, that sucks. Chef was my favorite character on the show.

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone should just end South Park and move on.
I agree. I don't find the show quite as funny as I used to when the show first started. I found myself not watching the show anymore about a year ago. I've moved on to "Drawn Together". But yeah, that is a shame he quit.

[mikeron]

If the show stagnates, they might benefit from sporadic, perhaps hour-long specials. Twelve episodes a year that focus on a particular issue would be excellent.

[Darth Marsden]

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone should just end South Park and move on.
Again, they're stuck in a contract with Comedy Central until 2008. But after that, yeah, maybe they should just end it. They really are starting to run out of ideas.

[Tygore]

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,188463,00.html

Interesting...

[MottZilla]

Well it's back to being nobody for the guy that played Chef. Yes I know he was some singer or some shit. But nobody cares now. And South Park is supposed to be nuts and offend. That's the whole point. If you don't like it, don't watch it. In this case he quit. Or according to some other news, he had a stroke or something and couldn't continue. Oh well. Anyone involved in that "religion" doesn't matter anyway. ;p

[Rainman]

In response to Tygore's link: Interesting... I've read quotes in other articles indicating an all out war of words. I don't remember what the sources were, but we'll have to see what comes out of this.



I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone should just end South Park and move on.
I've really liked the recent episodes. I keep thinking that they've run draw and another good episode comes along. They've change alot since the beginning so that helps them to keep fresh. In the last few seasons they've dropped their overused formula (problem -> attempt to fix -> things get out of hand -> "I've learned something today...") and it's gotten interesting. It'd be nice of them to stop while they're still good though.

Chef will be a big loss for the show. He contributed a great musical element and provide a good straight man (as in sane not heterosexual) often when everyone else was going crazy. It'll be interesting to see how Trey and Matt fix the problem. The recent episode have had a lot less or even no Chef so I suppose they've already got a plan.

[Archibaldo]

I'm sure that Trey and Matt will find some way to "replace" Chef. If you can come up with something like Team America, I doubt theres any limit to your imaginataion.

[Darth Marsden]

I've really liked the recent episodes. I keep thinking that they've run draw and another good episode comes along. They've change alot since the beginning so that helps them to keep fresh. In the last few seasons they've dropped their overused formula (problem -> attempt to fix -> things get out of hand -> "I've learned something today...") and it's gotten interesting. It'd be nice of them to stop while they're still good though.
They addressed this problem in the series 7 episode Butt Out, when the boys are caught smoking.

Kyle: You guys, maybe we should come clean right now and tell everyone that it wasn't the tobacco companies that made us want to smoke. ... Well it's just that, eh, this seems like another one of those times when things are gonna get way out of hands, you know? It's been happening a lot lately. How about this time we just put a stop to it right now?

This is just startin' to look like another one of those times where it, it's gonna end up with the whole town turning out, it's a big showdown happening, and us havin' to talk about what we learned, and I say we just stop right now, and go play cards or something.

No it isn't, you fat turd! Because, I've learned something today. You just hate- to Stan .See, I knew it.

Also - you guys are gonna love this - the first episode of series 10 is called 'The Return of Chef!', and here's the blurb from the official site:

The town is jolted out of a case of the doldrums when Chef suddenly reappears. While Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are thrilled to have their old friend back, they notice that something about chef seems different. When Chef’s strange behavior starts getting him in trouble, the boys pull out all the stops to save him. Here's a link to the preview (http://www.southparkstudios.com/downloads/display_video.php?ep_number=1001&ep_name=The%20Return%20Of%20Chef&vid=http://images.southparkstudios.com/media/video/1001/1001_teaser.mov&vid_name=Episode%201001%20Teaser). Let me know what it's like, I won't be able to see it until someone puts it on eMule or something.

[Cloral]

I saw the ad for that episode too. Looks like this whole story was a hoax. How frigging hilarious.

[algam86]

I just saw the commercial for it on TV...Pffh. Either it's a one-shot deal, or we just got psych'd. (pretty much agreeing with Cloral on that one...)

[theplustwo]

Don't misunderstand me, I think South Park is still really great, I just think that ten years is plenty of time for any show to be on and that they should end it before it gets shitty, like the Simpsons did.

Also, Drawn Together is terrible and will never be close South Park. The best thing about South Park is that for all it's offensive "fart joke" type humor it is actually one of the most socially concious shows on TV. Plus it's pretty damn funny.

[SeirraMist]

why are right-wing people who get offended like that watching the show in the first place?

Another thing to consider is they could always hire someone else to do his voice. The woman who did the mayor's voice is no longer with the show but they still have that character from time to time.
I have always wondered that as well... if you dont like something, dont watch it. Its not that hard to pick up a remote and just change the channel...

I was also gonna say the second quote there, but you beat me to it.

I really think the show needs chef... I mean come on, how could you even have South Park without Chef? Hopefully those 2 guys will come up with something to replace him...

Have to wonder though why he never had a problem with any of the previous seasons/movies/ect. ect... I mean if he can sing a song about salty balls, and having two somes, I think he can put up with easy stuff like that.

[chinostc]

........ And Chef joins the Super Adventure club, and returns as a pedophile...

*Great farewell, though. Ha!

[algam86]

Yeah...

I've just seen it...highlight only if you want to ruin the ending.
-=SPOILER=-

EDIT: Okay, never mind the spoiler...

[erm2003]

That was a great epsiode! I loved the parody's dealing with the Super Adventure Club and Scientology. I wonder if they will actually run a bit with the Darth Chef gag. No better way to take care of things though than to just kill off the character!

Even if you didn't see the episode yet, you have to just to try and pick up on all the little jokes throughout the whole thing. Another incredible dialogue job!

[Masamune]

That episode pissed me off. =\

[Cloral]

Heh, that was pretty stupid. But it was funny in parts.
"I wanna make love... in your ass"

So it looks like the story was right in the first place.

[rocksfan13]

Yeah, it was good. I particularly liked the end. Darth Chef!

Leader:"Candy balls?"
Darth Chef:"No. My Balls!"

[Darth Marsden]

Just watched it. Absolutely hilarious. Can't wait to see what they do with this.

[Cloral]

I don't think they're doing anything with this. The episode was simply a method to explain why they won't have Chef on the show anymore. From the next episode on, it will be as if Chef never existed.

[ShadowTiger]

I heard this morning on the news that Isaac Hayes had never meant for this to happen, .. that his Scientologist friend who appears to have been speaking for him for whatever reason had exaggerated things. Hayes reportedly really does want to continue his role on the show, as he needs the money to support his wife and family.

From the TV to me to you. Don't bother correcting me on anything. I don't remember it word for word, so if you have any better details, please, by all means, post them.

[Shoelace]

I didn't like that episode that much. Me an my roommate looked at each other and thought it was a rare miss. Especially for the season premire.

[erm2003]

I heard this morning on the news that Isaac Hayes had never meant for this to happen, .. that his Scientologist friend who appears to have been speaking for him for whatever reason had exaggerated things. Hayes reportedly really does want to continue his role on the show, as he needs the money to support his wife and family.

From the TV to me to you. Don't bother correcting me on anything. I don't remember it word for word, so if you have any better details, please, by all means, post them.

I saw that article too so I am not sure what's true. But I would think that with two weeks from the original announcement to the airing of the episode, if Issac really didn't want to quit the show, the would have contacted Matt and Trey immediately and then Matt and Trey wouldn't have written the episode like that.

But if you saw the show, they didn't put the blame on Issac Hayes, they are blaming the club he joined! I don't know if Matt and Trey have an issue with him over it but I still think it's low if he really did quit just because of an episode about HIS religion.

Cartman can lead a march against the Jews in the episode The Passion of the Jew but make fun of Scientology and you've gone too far. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[Rainman]

I didn't like that episode that much. Me an my roommate looked at each other and thought it was a rare miss. Especially for the season premire.
I didn't see the whole thing, but I saw a good bit. I laughed a lot about the all the Super Adventure Club things and the obviously reused dialogue. I kind of stopped though once they killed off Chef and I kind of thought Darth Chef was a bit lame, but overall I like how they handled things.

[mikeron]

But if you saw the show, they didn't put the blame on Issac Hayes, they are blaming the club he joined! I don't know if Matt and Trey have an issue with him over it but I still think it's low if he really did quit just because of an episode about HIS religion.

Cartman can lead a march against the Jews in the episode The Passion of the Jew but make fun of Scientology and you've gone too far. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.Scientology isn't a religion - it's an evil cult with a dark purpose. [proof (http://mirror.randomfoo.net/memes/2005/06/Tom_Cruise_Kills_Oprah.mov)]

[Glenn the Great]

Scientology is a religion that seems harmless on the surface, emphasizing some rather rational philosophies on mental well-being. Once you get deep in the religion, and become qualified to have the more esoteric teachings revealed to you, you learn that Scientology is nothing but Ron Hubbard's ridiculously cheesy science fiction about some supervillian named Xenu putting humans around volcanoes and retarded crap like that, at the same time smearing Christianity by claiming it is a ruse by said supervillian to control mankind.

Ron Hubbard seems to be just a man who wanted to erase all religions and replace them with his own, and seeing how half of Hollywood has bought into it, he seems to have had some degree of success. I personally don't see how anyone at least smart enough not to be borderline retarded could even PRETEND that religion is true.

[Lilith]

Ron Hubbard openly admitted that he made up the religion and it was fake. People still followed...it's some fucking retarded shit.

Read this article if you want info on why to hate scientology (long, but good):

http://www.rotten.com/library/religion/scientology/

[Cronic]

i think that was disrespectful shit they pulled on chef ...i personally stopped watching the show after hayes stopped doing so many songs, and issac was right ...they just try to hard to take things too far ...I'm sure those of you who know me know i have some pretty abstract morals, but what i do have is a strong sense of loyalty and respect, and well I think chef, and hayes deserved better than that. not to mention their shits played out ...like paully shore and all that weasel shit ...south park i can only hope aint too long off from the end.