http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/SouthParkS10E1TheReturnOfChef. Hayes Quits 'South Park' Citing "Bigotry" and "Intolerance". Trapped in the Closet is episode 12 of season 9 of South Park. They offer to help him out for $240. – As an historian compares a Tom Cruise PR video for Scientology to the work of Goebbels, Chris Ayres reports from LA: is the organization a dangerous cult, or a harmless celebrity club? '"[11], Although some questions were raised prior to the episode's screening about whether it was wise to take swipes at Cruise and Scientology, Comedy Central declared that it supported Stone and Parker. He refuses to come out, despite the protests of Randy, Nicole Kidman, the police, Travolta and R. Kelly to "come out of the closet". [53] An article in The Times wrote that South Park "infamously satirized" texts by L. Ron Hubbard "available only to Operating Thetans". You know what I mean? Travolta, along with his fellow Scientologists, was depicted as a Psychlo, as he appeared in the film Battlefield Earth. It was a brutal, up-close, personal thing with Isaac. Stan takes a Scientology personality quiz, and after making several allegations, the Scientologists try to convince him he is to be their new leader. I told them to take a couple of Scientology courses, and understand what we do. Twan hates Roxanne and Tina for selling him out to the cops even though he attempted to pin his drug trafficking scheme on them. Trapped in the Closet [3], The organization Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, founded by Lawrence Wollersheim, named the South Park staff their "FACTNet Person(s) of the Year for 2005" for this episode. except that it's about a couple getting dinner at the drive-thru, The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny. He tells to Stan the great secret behind the church—a condensed version of the story of Xenu, according to the Scientology Operating Thetan III document. [4][5][6], South Park had previously parodied Scientology in a spoof at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. White people. Dozens of further installments ("chapters") have been released since. Travolta and Kelly eventually join Cruise in the closet. [9] Parker and Stone have acknowledged that this is meant to be a reference to Scientology. Stan dares them to sue, and the episode ends. (voice) (as John Smith). "[55] After the episode was scheduled to be rebroadcast, Trey Parker and Matt Stone were interviewed on CNN's Showbiz Tonight, where they stated that all of the controversy increased publicity for the episode. Stan pays the Scientologists and is taken into an auditing room where an attendant reads his "thetan levels" using an "E-meter". In response, Parker states that he and Matt "knew there was something way more rotten going on. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? All Rights Reserved. Dozens of further installments ("chapters") have been released since. * RealLifeWritesThePlot: The episode was written after Music/IsaacHayes, a Scientologist, demanded release from his contract due to "Trapped in the Closet" parodying his religion.

", Isaac Hayes quits South Park over Scientology episode, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trapped_in_the_Closet_(South_Park)&oldid=981232908, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Television episode articles with short description for single episodes, Television episode articles with short description and disambiguated page names, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 October 2020, at 02:37. "[59] Although often misunderstood by the public to parody the Mel Gibson DUI incident, the advertisement actually congratulates South Park on gaining an Emmy nomination for "Trapped in the Closet" and satirizes the cancellation of the episode's rebroadcast in March. The president of Scientology arrives in a helicopter and talks with Stan's parents. However, the decision to ultimately produce a South Park episode satirizing Scientology was partially inspired by the friendship the show's creators have with Penn Jillette. The songs tell the story of Sylvester (played in the music videos by R. Kelly himself) and the crazy characters he encounters as a result of a one-night stand. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: The children of South Park are badly influenced by the film Terrence & Phillip: Asses of Fire and Sheila leads the parents into a crusade against Canada, which leads to a full-scale global war. Scientologist at Headquarters #2 / Back home, Stan asks his parents for the money. * RealLifeWritesThePlot: The episode was written after. Debuting in 1997, the show follows the misadventures of a group of elementary school kids in the titular mountain town of South Park, Colorado. [33][34] These assertions were soon also reported by E! Stan is dubbed the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard by a local group of Scientologists … It's like it's been phenomenal. Although it's [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/south-park-20-years-history-trey-parker-matt-stone-928212 come out]] that the Church of Scientology quit "for" him while he was in poor health due to a stroke he suffered in January 2006.

Twan when he saves Sylvester and him from Beeno's goons. The free screening was followed by a discussion with Parker and Stone, who said the screening was a "display of free speech". [16], On March 13, 2006, Hayes, a Scientologist himself, announced that he was quitting the show because of the series' treatment of religion, saying, "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins. ", "Comedy Central Again Steals 'South Park' Thunder", "They Killed Kenny...And Revolutionized Comedy", "Everyone's in a Stew Over 'South Park' Chef", "Hollywood, Interrupted Basks in the Glow of a South Park Emmy Nod", "Thrills, spills, perverts 'n' pills: catching Hollywood in the act", "IFC, R. Kelly Get 'Trapped in the Closet, "Scientologist Isaac Hayes quits 'South Park, "Isaac Hayes quits South Park after it satirises Scientology", "Scientologist Isaac Hayes Quits 'South Park, "Bruce Willis Gets Lucky, But Not With Model", "Still Sick, Still Wrong : For ten years, "South Park" has been the crudest, stupidest, most offensive show on television. In fact, in Chapters 3-4, Sylvester basically breaks every rule in the gun safety handbook. And the funniest", "TV Review: South Park "The Return of Adam Livshits, "Australia braced for Tom Cruise and the closet", "Scientologist Tom Cruise Blackmails Viacom into Pulling the "Trapped in the Closet" Episode of South Park", "Storms Blanket Midwest; Insurgents Launch Full-Scale Attack on Iraqi Police", "Fourth Year of War in Iraq Begins; Could Democrats Launch Impeachment Campaign Against Bush? The boys set up a talent agency and pool all their resources and impress their first client only to have another agency steal him away. Comedy Central representatives stated this change was made as a tribute to Isaac Hayes, but South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone thought otherwise; they issued a satirical statement saying they (Parker and Stone) were "servants of the dark lord Xenu". The episode was featured among Comedy Central's list of "10 South Parks That Changed The World", spoofed by Conan O'Brien in the opening segment of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards, and mentioned in the Scientology critique film The Bridge. based on Scientology, but Showtime prohibited him from doing so to avoid the possibility of legal action from the Church of Scientology. [32], The Washington Post reported that South Park fans "struck back", in March 2006, and threatened to boycott Mission: Impossible III until Comedy Central put "Trapped in the Closet" back on its schedule. View production, box office, & company info. In the episode, Stan joins Scientology in an attempt to find something "fun and free". Chef remains unengaged until Spontaneous Bootay, a very large black stripper, performs for him, snapping him back to his old self... only for Connelly to fire a tranquiliser dart into his neck and drag him away. "[63] IGN stated that "Perhaps the largest weakness of this season is that the most notorious episodes Best Friends Forever and Trapped in the Closet just don't carry the eye-popping impact that they did when they were ripped from the headlines", giving the DVD a rating of 7.0. When asked about whether he had been involved with stopping the rebroadcast on Comedy Central, Cruise stated, "First of all, could you ever imagine sitting down with anyone? Was this review helpful to you? Of course we will release Isaac from his contract and we wish him well.

We're not like that. Should be one hell of a studio Christmas party". ... After Randy Marsh experiences an unfortunate incident on national TV, the "N" bomb hits South Park. Everyone is cheating on their spouse and everyone becomes enraged when they learn that their spouse is cheating on them. [3] During this, an onscreen caption reads "This is what Scientologists actually believe". "[12], During production on the episode, investigative journalist Mark Ebner served as a consultant to Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

[3] Arp mentions South Park's usage of the onscreen caption—"This is what Scientologists actually believe"—in the episode, noting that the same device was used in the episode "All About the Mormons?". What's more, in the first chapter, he refers to Gwen in the second person, which is forgotten when she appears in the third.

Randy believes that only one thing can save him from his "disease," a bleeding statue of the Virgin Mary in the next town. Borat is back!