‘South Park’ Abandons Controversial Topic of Charlie Kirk for Gaza and Abortion
If nothing else, tonight’s South Park episode, “Conflict of Interest,” proves the show’s unwavering commitment to discussing the most controversial topics possible.
After the murder of Charlie Kirk on September 10th, an unreasonable number of people quickly pointed fingers at South Park, blaming the show for the conservative podcaster’s violent death. Then, in a move many believed to be related to Kirk’s passing and the right-wing outrage that followed, South Park announced it would be delaying the release of its newest episode from September 17th to September 24th. The show’s creators claimed it wasn’t finished in time, but there was lingering suspicion from fans that Kirk’s death upended the planned episode.
Whether there was more Kirk material ready to go or not, the point now feels moot. South Park has issued a formal rebuttal to the accusations and theories that post-Kirk it would stay away from hot-button issues. That statement seems to be: “Oh, you don’t want us to talk about divisive issues? Well here’s 30 minutes of material on Palestine and abortion.” You know, subjects that have widespread and nearly singular public consensus.
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The two plot lines run parallel the entire show. At South Park Elementary, social-platform betting has overtaken the playground. The guys can bet on anything: snow days, the odds of the girl’s soccer team winning and whether “Kyle’s mom will strike Gaza and destroy a Palestinian hospital.” This last bet quickly dominates the school’s — then the town’s — attention. Soon, everyone is trying to determine whether Kyle’s mother will bomb a hospital, with Cartman purposely spreading anti-Semitic theories to improve the odds on his own bet.
Meanwhile, at the White House, Donald Trump is growing disgruntled about the amount of attention that his butt baby with Satan is receiving. Baby-sized JD Vance keeps bringing gifts to the Oval Office, but none are for Trump. Instead, they’re all for the soon-to-arrive child. This drives Trump into a rage. But he can’t ask Satan to get an abortion outright, lest he risk upsetting his followers. And so, the president devotes the rest of the show trying to force Satan into miscarrying.
The culmination of both plot lines don’t land with the most violent outcome, though both were teased for the entire half hour. The only person who suffers from Trump’s repeated and increasingly unhinged attempts to force a miscarriage on Satan is FCC Chair Brendan Carr. And Kyle’s mom, who gets put on the defensive about her stance on Gaza throughout the show, does finally snap and fly to Israel. But she commits no human rights atrocities. Instead, she has a parent-teachers conference style showdown with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she blames for “making life for Jews miserable.”
The show ends there.
There was a real window here for South Park to take a safer, more conciliatory road. They could have totally shied away from Trump or any topic that might be deemed even remotely inflammatory. Instead, they went for the jugular, guaranteeing people won’t be able to stop talking about the show until the next episode comes out in three weeks.
