Top 10 Celebrity Reactions To South Park Parodies
#10: Nick Jonas
To kick off season 13 of South Park, Kenny and his new girlfriend go off to see The Jonas Brothers in concert. The episode takes shots at the brothers by mentioning how they wear purity rings and are essentially servants to a maniacal Mickey Mouse. During a 2016 Reddit Ask Me Anything, Nick Jonas admitted he wasn’t a big fan of the episode when it originally came out. He said that he had so much going on when he was parodied that it was hard to find the humor in it. However, the episode has since grown on him. He finds it funny and has watched it several times since then. It’s nice to see Nick Jonas being able to laugh at his younger self.
#9: Cesar Milan
In season 10’s “Tsst” episode, Cartman’s mom hires Cesar Millan as a trainer to try and get Cartman in line. By treating him much like a dog, it doesn’t take long for the celeb to make Cartman listen and behave. This entry is unique in that it’s the only one on this list where the person being featured made their own YouTube reaction video for their episode. For the better part of almost 20 minutes, Cesar breaks down the different things the show did and said. He’s more than complimentary to the creators and shows a genuine love of what they do. Now THAT is how you react to being on South Park.
#8: Al Gore
When season 10’s “ManBearPig” episode aired, it was intended to poke fun at how frequently Al Gore wanted to talk about climate change. The creators had no problem roasting how intense the politician got about his beliefs. Yet more than 10 years later, they’d change their minds and made an in-episode apology to Gore. During an appearance on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”, Gore was asked about what he thought of his portrayal. Not only did he think his original episode was funny, but he praised the show for later acknowledging how real “ManBearPig” turned out to be. It was great to see Gore take everything in stride, and appreciate what the show had done.
#7: Russell Crowe
Never afraid to go after whomever was causing a stir in the real world, the folks at “South Park” took aim at “Gladiator” star Russell Crowe. He’d been in the news several times due to his aggressive behavior. The writers took this to the Nth degree and devoted an entire storyline where they showed him a person who just picks fights around the world. When Crowe appeared on “60 Minutes”, he was asked about his portrayal on the show. He was quick to compliment Parker and Stone for their work. Crowe also admitted that seeing himself in such an exaggerated manner actually got him to reflect on his own life. Judging from his statements, it seems as though seeing his depiction on “South Park” may have actually been therapeutic for the actor.
#6: George R. R. Martin
“South Park” once opted to do a three-part episode devoted to HBO’s “Game of Thrones”. The epic comedy is set in and around Black Friday. During the story, the boys fight each other over access to the two new game consoles coming out that weekend. Part way through, George R R Martin, the author of the books which inspired “Game of Thrones”, appears. He tries to help the boys with dragon knowledge but keeps talking about one particular part of the male anatomy. The real Martin is a fan of the show and largely likes his “South Park” portrayal. But he did have a hilarious and not exactly safe for work response indicating that he’s actually obsessed with another physical feature belonging to the female sex...
#5: Lorde
No matter how many times we talk about Randy Marsh as Lorde, it still makes us laugh. But knowing what the singer herself thinks about it makes the plotline even better. At the start of season 18, we get a glimpse of Randy Marsh dressed up as Lorde singing. This turns into a story later on where we find out he’s the real singer and is struggling to maintain his dual identities. During an interview and on her own social media outlets, Lorde gave praise for the show’s portrayal of her. She even went as far as to do an impression of Randy doing his impression of her. [b-roll from Clevver news: “Yayayaya I am Lorde. Yayayaya”]. Lorde’s meta compliment is a huge sign of her approval.
#4: Barbra Streisand
Way back during the first season of “South Park”, the show decided to take aim at Barbra Streisand. The show's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, chose her mainly out of her distaste for their home state of Colorado whom she had swore to never return to. After being portrayed in the episode “Mecha-Streisand”, the singer responded with a fairly serious answer. Instead of simply taking the jab with a grain of salt, she called out their particular brand of satire. Streisand claimed shows like “South Park” add “cynicism and negativity in our culture, especially in children”. Stone and Parker clearly didn’t take her comments too much to heart because they continued to make fun of her.
#3: Jennifer Lopez
When 2003 rolled along and J-Lo made her first appearance on South Park, the singer/actress wasn’t exactly a fan. Even prior to the episode’s airing, it appeared that “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker had already gotten on her bad side after infamously wearing her dress to the 2000 Oscars. After season 7’s “Fat Butt and Pancake Head” came along, the bad blood she had for the show and its creators seemed to intensify. Parker and Stone had even heard that people were allegedly fired from the set of a J-Lo movie after repeating lines from the episode around her. We wouldn’t recommend mentioning the show at all if you’re ever around the pop star.
#2: Kanye West
Do you like fish sticks? Well apparently, Kanye West doesn’t. During a season 13 episode, Cartman and Jimmy come up with a silly joke about fish sticks that serves as a double entendre. Although everyone on earth is laughing at the joke, the only one who doesn’t “get it” is Kanye West. Things went slightly differently in the real world when West responded to his portrayal with an all-caps post. During the post, he claimed he was working on some of the negative aspects of his personality and talked about the nature of celebrity. But West also complimented the show’s creators and admitted to finding the show funny. It was weirdly inspiring to see the musician rolling with the punches. However, a lyric from his song “Gorgeous” may have indicated that he was still feeling bitter about the whole ordeal.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Brian Boitano
He Was a Fan & His Team Made Shirts Related to His Portrayal to Raise Money for Charity
Paris Hilton
She Skipped Watching the Episode but Found the Idea of Being Parodied Funny
#1: Tom Cruise
“South Park” has made itself known as being willing to go after anyone, regardless of who they are. One of the most well-known reactions to an episode of the show came after Season 9’s “Trapped in the Closet” episode. The story poked fun at both Scientology and Tom Cruise. Rumor has it that the actor was so offended by the episode that he threatened to pull his “Mission Impossible III” press tour unless the network agreed to not rerun the episode in question. Whether or not Cruise actually made this threat was irrelevant because the original re-airing was pulled. It did make the air again eventually without issue long after the heat of the actor controversy cooled down.