South Park’s 200th episode—appropriately entitled “200”—and its sequel, “201,” both revolve around efforts to bring the Islamic prophet Muhammad into public view. The possibility of Muhammad being depicted on the show prompted the radical Muslim organization Revolution Muslim to issue a warning to series creators
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, telling them that they were putting their lives at risk by disrespecting the prophet. In response, Comedy Central heavily edited “201,” bleeping out all references to Muhammad. Both episodes remain unavailable on streaming due to the controversy.
A couple of days after “201” aired for the first and only time, Larry King welcomed Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane—who’d had his own issues with Parker and Stone in the past—and Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame onto his show to discuss the situation. Though the segment is brief, it goes on for long enough to establish that MacFarlane and Jillette don’t see eye to eye on the subject at all.
“I think any combination of angry plus deity equals nuts,” MacFarlane tells King when asked his opinion. “The question becomes… At what point is it worth it for them to put themselves at risk? Is the joke so hilarious that we wanna risk our lives?”
A ‘South Park’ Controversy Once Put Seth MacFarlane and Penn Jillette at Odds on Live TV
After MacFarlane says he doesn’t know how he’d react if he were in the same position, Jillette chimes in, saying that Parker and Stone can get laughs “doing anything at all,” and refers to the duo as “the best among us”—which certainly comes across as a dig considering who he’s sitting next to. When the question of whether or not Parker and Stone were aware of the risk involved with depicting Muhammad comes up, MacFarlane dismisses the idea, telling the panel that he’s doubtful that that was the case.
Once again, Jillette takes the opportunity to push back, this time accusing MacFarlane of cheapening Parker and Stone’s morality, strength and courage with his statements.
“Because the question is, what is morally right?” Jillette continues. “And as strong as the religious side is in believing what’s morally right, Matt and Trey have the strongest moral compass [of anyone] I know, and they are very, very good men.” Not to be outdone, MacFarlane cuts off Jillette in the middle of his praise to suggest that he’s getting hysterical. “No, but they really do,” Jillette insists, just before King cuts to a commercial, “I think that’s very true.”
You can check out the full exchange for yourself above.
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