It’s a show that pokes fun at everyone and everybody.
But for soul singer Isaac Hayes, even the irreverent South Park can cross the line.
The man who played the voice of the twisted ladies’ man Chef on the animated series has left the show, complaining it went too far when it hit his religious beliefs.
But it wasn’t an attack on Christianity that led Hayes to his indignant resignation. Instead, it was an episode that poked fun at Scientology.
In a show aired in November, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone came up with a script satirizing the movement and poking fun at disciples like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
The episode concerned one of the foul mouthed fourth graders, Stan, being named a Scientology ‘saviour’. The news sent the animated Cruise into a closet, refusing to come out.
Hayes, who practices the sometimes controversial religion, took immediate offense to the idea and after fuming about it for some time, decided to let his conscience be his guide.
"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," the 63-year-old maintains in a statement.
"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honoured. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."
Needless to say, Stone isn’t impressed by the sudden defection.
"This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology ... He has no problem -- and he's cashed plenty of cheques -- with our show making fun of Christians.”
We “never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."
The show will continue without him, although there’s no word on whether he’ll be replaced or the character dropped.
March 13, 2006 |
