Top 20 Celebrity Reactions To South Park Parodies
#20: Nicole "Snooki" LaValle
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"It's a Jersey Thing" When “Jersey Shore” first hit the airwaves, fans couldn’t get enough of the antics, the catfights, and promiscuous behavior of the show’s star: Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. It didn’t take long before “South Park” dedicated an entire episode to poking fun at the ever-expanding world that was the “Jersey Shore.” One notable gag was their portrayal of Snooki as some type of carnal animal that attacked anyone who came near her. The day after the episode aired, the real “Snooki” took to Twitter and quoted her “South Park” counterpart in saying “snooki want smoosh smoosh…we've officially made it.” Clearly laughing at herself, it’s a far better reaction than some of the others on this list.
#19: Robert Smith
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"Mecha-Streisand" So, this one is less parody as it is just a rare appearance, but come on; it’s Robert Smith of The Cure. Going all the way back to the first season of the show, Smith appeared as himself to help the boys fight Barbra Streisand (we’ll get to her later). Transforming into a “Mothra”-like creature, he defeats her and even has Jesus call him their savior. When asked about his appearance and portrayal years later, Smith was surprised by what he saw, but loved how Kyle gave huge props to The Cure’s “Disintegration” album.
#18: Brian Boitano
"Spirit of Christmas" (1995) & “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” (1999) In the second “Spirit of Christmas” short, the boys can’t decide whether to help Jesus or Santa. So, when Stan asks, audiences are wondering why they’d ask for help from a figure skater. The same rang true in the “South Park” movie but with a fantastic musical number that followed. Boitano himself saw the movie and worried about his portrayal, but came out loving what they had done. He’s since worked with the creators to design t-shirts with the slogan and sell them for charity. On top of that, it introduced him to the likes of younger fans who now only know him through the show.
#17: Paris Hilton
"Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" Near the end of Season Eight, “South Park” took aim at Paris Hilton and her status as a “role model” for the young girls in town. It’s hard to tell which part is more brutal: the video playset at the mall, or her competition with Mr. Slave that ends the episode. Either way, there’s no mistaking how savage the show’s takedown is. When asked what she thought, she responded by saying she had never seen the episode, but thought any time someone makes fun of you, it should be taken as a compliment. Given how she’s tweeted about watching the show at home, we’re guessing she’s still a fan.
#16: Terri Irwin
"Hell on Earth 2006" How long after someone passes away are you allowed to tell jokes about them? In the case of “South Park,” it’s seven weeks. Famed “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin had been fatally injured in September of 2006. In late October of the same year, “South Park” aired an episode that featured him with a stingray sticking out of his chest. Terri Irwin, Steve’s wife, was incredibly offended by the portrayal citing concerns about how her children would feel if they saw it. She found support in her friend Mark Amey, who suggested Irwin fans sic their dangerous pets on the creators of the show in protest.
#15: Sarah Jessica Parker
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"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" One thing the creators of “South Park” have always stood by is their idea that anything and everything is fair game when it comes to comedy. So, when female writers called them out for being mean about tearing into Sarah Jessica Parker over her looks, the two once again didn’t hold back. Despite what anyone else thought, Parker herself never addressed the episode directly. Instead, in an interview with Stylist magazine, she commented on how people seem to think being mean is funny. She went on to add that personal versus professional criticism was “uncivilized and vulgar.”
#14: "Mama June" Shannon
"Raising the Bar" Shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras” and “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” have received all kinds of criticisms regarding the depictions of their stars. The latter has been the subject of countless commentary about the family’s diet and lifestyle choices over the course of its four seasons. Given the type of language often used to describe the popular TLC program, there’s a lot of irony in June Shannon’s reaction to being satirized on “South Park.” During a TMZ appearance, she was asked what she thought of the parodies of her show. Taking some in stride, she wasn’t a fan of how “South Park” took her on, saying, “the way they portrayed the show ... it was kinda trashy."
#13: Bob Saget
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"Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut" As the original host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” Bob Saget’s quips were subtle, and often bordered on some of the worst “dad jokes” out there. Yet, week after week people would tune it to see what videos were coming next. Back in Season One of “South Park,” Bob’s gig as a host was parodied as Stan’s grandfather watched “America’s Stupidest Home Videos.” Grandpa Marsh loved the jokes, but the boys found them incredibly lame. During a Reddit AMA, Bob Saget was asked about his portrayal on “South Park.” He responded by saying he loved how grandpa laughed at his jokes. Comparing it to relationships, he said the parody felt good and hurt all at the same time.
#12: Martha Stewart
"Red Hot Catholic Love” & “Eat, Pray, Queef" Martha Stewart, and her various shows have been depicted several times over the years on “South Park.” Her first appearance saw us learn about an unusual way to consume a Thanksgiving Day turkey. Whereas a Season 13 appearance gave us one of the most creative ways to make use of paper and glitter crafts. Either way, much like Bob Saget, she also addressed her appearances on South Park during a Reddit AMA. Her answer was quick and simple: “I thought it was really cute!” We’re not sure if she saw both of these episodes, but we’re guessing she thought they were a good thing.
#11: Sally Struthers
"Starvin' Marvin" Sally Struthers may have got her start on “All in the Family,” but she went on to become a spokesperson for “ChildFund:” a charity focused on helping children in third world countries. Her commercials would often air on television showing her amongst the kids. “South Park” did their own story about children in Africa and featured an oversized Struthers who had been hoarding all of the donated food. According to the Season One DVD commentary, Struthers was a big fan of the show, until this episode aired. It continues by saying she was so bothered by what she saw in the episode that she was emotionally distressed for days.
#10: Nick Jonas
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“The Ring” 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
“Tsst” 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
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“ManBearPig” 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
“The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer” 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 as 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
“Black Friday” trilogy “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 human 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 of human beings...
#5: Lorde
Various 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.. Lorde’s meta compliment is a huge sign of her approval.
#4: Barbra Streisand
“Mecha-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
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“Fat Butt and Pancake Head” When 2003 rolled around 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
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“Fishsticks” 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.
#1: Tom Cruise
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“Trapped in the Closet” “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.
