A Beloved Oscar-Winner Just Praised ‘South Park’ on Social Media

Everybody loves Marisa Tomei. She’s an Academy Award-winning actress, and one of the few performers to take home an Oscar for a comedic performance, thanks to her work in the surprisingly accurate legal comedy My Cousin Vinny. She also played Aunt May in the recent Spider-Man movies, and she once came shockingly close to dating George Costanza.

Well, now South Park fans have yet another reason to appreciate the Only You star. 

On her Instagram account, Tomei recently posted a clip from the headline-making South Park season premiere “Sermon on the ‘Mount,” in which Donald Trump/Saddam Hussein strips naked and climbs into bed with his (unimpressed) significant other, Satan. The Dark Lord then complains that his Instagram followers keep commenting about how Trump is “on the Epstein list.”

“We all saw this right?” Tomei asked, including a couple of clapping emojis. “South Park always brings a chuckle.

Major Hollywood stars praising South Park is something of rarity, seeing as how, before the show went after Trump’s minuscule junk, it had already brutally roasted a vast number of A-list celebrities. Like, we don’t expect that Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s cartoon will suddenly earn the endorsement of Jennifer Lopez or Prince Harry.

Tomei did get referenced on South Park one time, but only very briefly. And it was way back in 1999, during the show’s third season. In the unfortunately-titled episode “The Red Badge of Gayness,” Cartman dresses up as General Robert E. Lee for a local Civil War reenactment, but tries to re-write history so that the Confederate army is victorious in order to win a bet with Stan and Kyle.

Cartman-as-Lee eventually leads his army of drunken reenactors to the White House. Of course, the sight of an angry throng of Americans storming Washington, D.C. carrying confederate flags may play a little differently today. 

When they reach the White House, Cartman sends President Bill Clinton his list of demands, specifically, asking for the Confederacy to be declared an independent nation. “If you do not meet our demands, we will be forced to show the videotapes we have of you with Marisa Tomei,” Cartman’s letter threatens. 

Considering how some other famous actors have been treated on the show, Tomei arguably got off pretty lightly. And the reference didn’t really have anything to do with anything she’s ever done or said; more likely, the show just picked her name at random, possibly with the help of a tankful of idea balls and manatees. 

Tomei’s taste in cartoon satire is yet more evidence that George Costanza really dropped the ball.