“South Park” has had one heck of a run on TV, and the show, which began in 1997, is still popular and going strong.
There’s good reason for that. For many folks, well … the show is hilarious.
And, early on in the series, the character of “Chef,” was funny, too. The character was voiced by legendary singer Issac Hayes, and “Chef” was written off the show in 2005 after the episode called “Trapped in the Closet.” That show made fun of Scientology, and Hayes was a Scientologist.
“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 other begins,” Hayes said when he departed four months later.
Hayes died in 2008, but his son, Isaac Hayes III, provided some new details about his father’s departure from the show on Facebook Friday.
“For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father (Isaac Hayes) left South Park,” he wrote. “I’m here to set the record straight. My dad did not quit South Park. Scientology did. After the episode, ‘Trapped in the Closet’ aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few months later that left him unable to speak or make decisions on his own. He was not in any condition to resign from anything. The truth is, someone else within his Scientology circle made that decision and quit the show for him.
“He loved being the voice of Chef,” Hayes III continued. “He loved the character. He loved connecting with fans. He would joke with people who recognized his voice and he truly enjoyed being part of the show. The narrative that he quit because he was offended by the satire is not true. That was a cover story created by others. My father never got to speak for himself because his health robbed him of the chance.”
Hayes III was not through.
“So now I am speaking for him,” he continued. “He did not leave South Park willingly. He was forced out by illness and by people who did not have his best interest at heart. This is for anyone who loved Chef. This is for anyone who admired my father’s work. This is the truth about what really happened.”
