When George Clooney Championed ‘South Park,’ He Didn’t Know It Would Become ‘Standard Bearer for Democracy'

Given the current political climate, it’s no surprise that Prime Video will be airing a filmed version of George Clooney’s recent Broadway run of Good Night and Good Luck. The play, like the earlier movie, tells the story of Edward R. Murrow’s fight against the federal government’s attempts to clamp down on the media. In a Deadline interview, Clooney noted the striking similarities between the network pressure around Murrow and the recent efforts to shut down Jimmy Kimmel.

“Those conversations (Disney CEO) Bob Iger is going through is very much the conversations that (CBS executive William S.) Paley was going through, and the idea of what part of this government incursion are you going to cave to?” Clooney said. “It is really fascinating.”

Instead of journalists like Murrow, comedians are leading the charge for free speech this time, including Kimmel and the creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Clooney was instrumental in spreading the word about Stone and Parker’s early animations, eventually leading to a deal for their landmark show.

Clooney doesn’t like to take too much credit for South Park’s success. “I saw it on a VCR, and I kept sending it out to the guys at Comedy Central. Eventually, they gave the guys a job there,” he said. “I just thought they were funny, and I didn’t really think they were going to be standard bearers for democracy and free speech.”

Parker and Stone remembered Clooney’s support and rewarded the actor with a part during South Park’s first season. Unlike The Simpsons, where celebrities often appear as animated versions of themselves, Parker said, “Let’s have celebrities on, and let’s have them do minor, unimportant things.” 

That’s how Clooney ended up supplying the yips and whines of Sparky, Stan’s gay dog.

Clooney’s support, however, hasn’t stopped Parker and Stone from taking the actor to task when they believe he deserves it. Clooney was featured as one of the pious, pompous actors in Team America: World Police:

And his Oscar acceptance speech was turned into a threatening cloud of smug in another South Park episode:

No harm done, according to Clooney. “I must say I would’ve been offended if I wasn’t in it.” 

But the actor remains alarmed at how comic voices like Parker and Stone appear to be the First Amendment’s last line of defense. “That’s how desperate we are,” Clooney told Deadline. “Jon (Stewart) would be the first to say, you’re looking at me, but I’m a comedian who is just trying to speak truth to power. Watch Jimmy Kimmel and how good he is at it, and John Oliver. You’ve got these really smart, funny guys who are reminding us of what we’re supposed to be, and making the argument for the importance of freedom of speech.”