South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone delivered a deadpan response to the White House’s angry reaction over their Season 27 premiere that brutally lampooned President Donald Trump during a Comic-Con panel on July 24, 2025.
When asked about the backlash during Comedy Central’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con International, Parker responded with mock sincerity: “We’re terribly sorry.” The comment drew applause from the packed audience during the duo’s first Comic-Con appearance in nearly a decade.
The Season 27 premiere, titled “Sermon on the Mount,” aired on July 23, 2025, and depicted Trump literally in bed with Satan, using real photos of the president’s head superimposed onto an animated body. The episode also featured a deepfake sequence showing Trump wandering naked through a desert, culminating in his animated genitalia delivering a pro-Trump message with the tagline about his anatomy being small but his love for America being large.
On July 24, the White House delivered a harsh rebuttal, with spokesperson Taylor Rogers describing South Park as an outdated, low-quality show that has been irrelevant for more than 20 years and is clinging to recycled ideas in a desperate bid for attention. Rogers stated that President Trump has fulfilled more commitments in six months than any previous president, and that no minor television show can interrupt his streak of accomplishments.
During the Comic-Con panel, Parker revealed behind-the-scenes negotiations with Comedy Central over the explicit content. The network initially requested that Trump’s animated anatomy be blurred, but Parker refused. Stone explained their workaround involved adding eyes to the animated body part, making it technically a character, which allowed it to air uncensored. Stone added, “If we put eyes on the ‘part’, we won’t blur it. That was a whole conversation with grown up people for four (profanity) days!”
The episode also targeted Paramount Global, the parent company of Comedy Central, referencing the media giant’s recent $16 million settlement with Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview. The settlement came as Paramount sought regulatory approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which required Trump administration approval through the Federal Communications Commission.
In the episode, a fictional version of “60 Minutes” shows reporters visibly panicking while reporting on Trump, with characters uttering phrases while a ticking time bomb plays on screen. The show’s version of Jesus warns townspeople about potential cancellation, referencing what happened to CBS and specifically mentioning Stephen Colbert, whose late-night show was recently cancelled by the Paramount-owned network.
The timing of the episode’s release was particularly complex, as Parker and Stone were in the middle of a $1.5 billion deal with Paramount+ for global streaming rights and 50 new episodes over five years. This deal, announced hours after the episode aired, gives the streaming platform exclusive rights to all 27 seasons of the long-running series.
During the panel, which also featured Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge and Digman co-creator Andy Samberg, Parker explained South Park’s production process remains unchanged despite the controversy. The creators continue to develop episodes week by week, with Parker noting they were still figuring out the following week’s episode on the morning of the Comic-Con panel. He described the process as super stressful, comparing it to “Saturday Night Live’s” production schedule.
Stone jokingly suggested future episodes would contain no politics when asked what fans could expect from the rest of Season 27. However, the creators’ track record suggests they will continue addressing current events as they develop. The moderator playfully warned that subpoenas might be coming their way, to which Parker responded that he was ready.
The episode’s portrayal of Trump drew comparisons to South Park’s earlier depiction of Saddam Hussein in the 1999 South Park movie, with Satan even noting in the episode that Trump and Hussein were exactly alike. The show used the same technique of placing real photographs of political figures’ heads onto animated bodies.
Despite the controversy, Hall H was packed with fans in a way typically seen at major studio presentations. The creators received the Comic-Con Inkpot Award for Best Animation at the conclusion of their panel. Parker and Stone avoided directly addressing the Paramount-Skydance merger during their appearance, focusing instead on their creative process and the production challenges of creating topical content.