The creators of the animated series South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are known for their wild, unapologetic style and they refuse to tone down their content even in a media climate under constant pressure from the White House.
In the fifth episode of the show's current season, titled Conflict of Interest, the pair once again launched a frontal attack on U.S. President Donald Trump and his representative at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr. But the big surprise came with the guest appearance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mocked by the show’s creators.
At the center of the episode, the South Park children are swept up in betting on political scenarios through prediction market apps, one of which asks: will Kyle’s mother strike in Gaza and destroy a local hospital? Kyle’s Jewish mother, Sheila Broflovski, is determined to uncover who is behind the bet.
“It’s not the Jews against Palestine, it’s Israel against Palestine,” she declares. Her investigation leads her to Israel, where she finds herself face-to-face with Netanyahu and accuses him over his policies in the conflict with the Palestinians. “Here you are, Mr. Netanyahu,” the furious mother scolds, “who exactly do you think you are, killing thousands of people, flattening neighborhoods, and then wrapping yourself in Judaism as if it will shield you from criticism?”
Parallel to the Middle East subplot and the growing conflict between Bibi and Sheila, the main storyline deals with internal U.S. politics. Trump makes another guest appearance, this time alongside Carr, head of the FCC, who had made headlines in recent days for pressuring Disney after Jimmy Kimmel used his show to accuse Charlie Kirk’s assassination attempt of being exploited for political purposes. Jimmy Kimmel Live, which went off the air for a week due to Carr’s threats, returned Wednesday. The creators of South Park, who themselves had faced public criticism from the right over an older episode that joked about Kirk before his death, did not hesitate to go after Carr himself and did so with harsh bluntness.
When Cartman updates Kyle about the hottest bets at school, including the one involving his mother and the possible strike in Gaza, Kyle reacts furiously. He accuses his friend of antisemitism, but after Cartman insists he did not start the bet, Kyle decides to track down the culprits.
Unlike his mother, who traveled all the way to Israel, he identifies the obvious suspect, Brendan Carr, and heads to the White House to warn Trump about the villainous FCC chief. The president, however, is preoccupied with what he sees as more pressing matters, such as ending his unwanted pregnancy with Satan.
Each time he tries to carry out one of his wicked schemes, Carr happens to appear and ends up the victim: first tumbling down stairs, then drinking poison and later being infected with toxoplasmosis after Trump hurls cat feces at him, leading to his hospitalization.
When Vice President JD Vance visits Carr in the hospital, the doctor informs him: “His bones are healing, so he’ll regain his mobility. But if the toxoplasmosis parasite reaches his brain, I’m afraid he could lose his freedom of speech.”
Vance, satisfied to eliminate another rival on his way to the Oval Office, threatens Carr to limit his interference, telling him: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” a direct quote of the threat Carr himself leveled on-air at ABC executives in demanding Kimmel’s show be pulled.
The question now is whether Carr will respond to his latest portrayal, which aired three weeks later than the previous episode and fueled speculation the series had been canceled. Parker and Stone said the delay was due to production issues, not outside pressure.
South Park is broadcast by Paramount, the parent company of CBS, which recently bowed to White House pressure and announced the cancellation of the next season of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.