Trapped in the Closet returns
Comedy Central allows controversial South Park episode to air
Jul 12, 2006
(Source: E Online)
One week after South Park's controversial "Trapped in the Closet" episode gained an Emmy nomination, Comedy Central will air the show again on July 19.
The decision was clearly designed to mollify Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the hit animated show.
"If they hadn't put this episode back on the air, we'd have had serious issues, and we wouldn't be doing anything else with them," Matt Stone reportedly told Variety.
"Trapped in the Closet" raised eyebrows with its irreverent Gospel According to Scientology, showing aliens being dropped into volcanoes. An onscreen caption said, "This is what Scientologists actually believe!"
Despite praise from Scientology watchers such as FACTNet, and fantasy author George R.R. Martin, Comedy Central refused to show "Trapped in the Closet" again. The episode also allegedly caused voice actor Isaac Hayes to leave the show, claiming South Park was anti-religious.
"Trapped in the Closet" also showed actor/Scientologist apologist Tom Cruise hiding out in a closet, later joined by fellow Scientologist John Travolta. Allegations of homosexuality have dogged both actors' careers.
Many people claimed that Tom Cruise had threatened not to do any publicity for Mission: Impossible: III unless Comedy Central yanked the episode (Viacom owns both Comedy Central and Paramount, who released M:I:III). The rumour persisted, despite vehement denials from Cruise and his representatives.
"I'm really not even going to dignify this," claimed Cruise. "I honestly didn't really even know about it. I'm working, making my movie, I've got my family. I'm busy. I don't spend my days going, 'What are people saying about me?'"
Stone responded with, "I only know what we were told, that people involved with M:I:III wanted the episode off the air and that is why Comedy Central had to do it. I don't know why else it would have been pulled."
Cruise's publicity for the film was seemingly ineffective. MI:III only made $133 million at the box office.
"It's true we are not as big as Tom Cruise, but we've done two movies for Viacom (South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and Team America: World Police) and 10 years of South Park episodes, and this has been our home," Stone also said.
This was not the first time Comedy Central had a fight with South Park.
"We've been through a trifecta of annoyances," Stone claimed. "The 'Bloody Mary' episode angered Catholics. And we had a big fight when we wanted to show Mohammad."
Last year, Comedy Central declined to re-air the episode entitled "Bloody Mary" when Catholics protested the image of a statue of the Virgin Mary menstruating on the Pope.
In April, Comedy Central also intervened with "Cartoon Wars," dealing with the violence over a Danish newspaper showing cartoons of Mohammed. The network censored the show when Parker and Stone wanted to show Mohammed handing a football helmet to a character from The Family Guy.
Instead, the episode was released with a title card reading, "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network."
