Charlie Kirk Is the Latest Example of the Right Not Understanding Cartman

Barring another unexpected hiatus, we’ll be getting a brand new episode of South Park on August 6th. The recently-released promo suggests that the second installment of Season 27 will feature a storyline involving ICE, plus the return of Trump and his two-dimensional microdick.

Also, Cartman seems to have rebounded from the “Death of Woke”-inspired depression we saw in the season premiere, and has subsequently undergone a full-on MAGA makeover. A Bible-carrying Cartman berates Bebe for hating America and loving abortions while sporting a new haircut that fans immediately pointed out bears a striking resemblance to conservative commentator/boardwalk caricature come to life, Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, who has a history of making racist comments and hanging out with white nationalists, frequently hosts college events seemingly to grill progressive students for YouTube clicks — and they don’t look so dissimilar from Cartman’s event. 

While the idea of being mocked on South Park might scare some celebrities, Kirk seems downright thrilled to be a part of the show. After the promo dropped, he quickly started posting Cartman memes…

…and even changed his profile picture to that of his South Park doppelganger. Which begs the question: Does Kirk realize that the show is making fun of him?

Kirk’s embrace of the South Park parody could just be a sweaty attempt to seem chill when he’s quietly shitting himself with anxiety, but he wouldn’t be the first MAGA acolyte to completely misunderstand the character of Eric Cartman. 

Just recently, a right-winger on social media praised the “based” South Park for a scene in which Cartman sings about how there are “too many minorities” at the waterpark. Others were quick to point out that we probably weren’t meant to sympathize with the character who ended his friend’s life just to get a PlayStation Portable, fed a teenager chili made with the corpses of his parents and became a full-on Neo-Nazi after watching Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. 

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have previously likened Cartman to a “little Archie Bunker,” also referring to him as a “bigoted jerk” who “got darker and darker and darker” until ultimately becoming a “super evil genius.” Even way back in the show's second season, in the interdimensional “Spookyfish” episode, we learned that our universe's Eric Cartman was, in fact, the evil one.

But some people clearly still idolize him, including one fan who recently admitted that the show’s humor is “going over my head.” That could be the case with Charlie Kirk, too — although it’s hard to imagine anything not being intercepted by that head.