‘South Park’ Skewers ‘The Simpson’s Racist Controversy, Roseanne in Sh*t-Fueled Episode

Really, it was only a matter of time before Matt Stone and Trey Parker weighed in on Roseanne Barr and the list of other celebrities who have fallen from public grace because of their own misdeeds. But no one expected actual shit to be part of that conversation. Last night South Park took down a beloved character from its past — Mr. Hankey — and got Kyle dirty in the process.

“The Problem with a Poo” never mentions Barr or any of the other celebrities it’s nodding to by name, but the episode never needs to. After the South Park council cuts Mr. Hankey’s budget in half for the annual Christmas pageant, the beloved Christmas poo loses it. He goes off on an Ambien-fueled Twitter rant, insulting the kids and adults of South Park in another excuse to exercise Stone and Parker’s vulgar sense of humor. You don’t have to think too far back to recall another real-life celebrity who blamed the same drug for a different, unforgivable rant.

Once again it’s Kyle who gets dragged into helping Mr. Hankey recover his public image. For a while it somewhat works. But it’s not long before Mr. Hankey’s facade of composure breaks down again. And Kyle, who’s been spending too much time with poop, starts to stink as well.

The episode is clearly making a statement about recent celebrity downfalls that we’ve heard a million times before. In Kyle’s case that means exploring the concept that you’re only as good as the people you defend. That’s something we’ve seen played out recently in the public’s response to Norm Macdonald defending Barr. But it’s a bit less clear what the episode is trying to say abut Mr. Hankey and the other celebrities at the center of these scandals.

The Christmas poo has no redeeming moments in the episode. Even when Kyle prompts his friends to remember the good times with Mr. Hankey, Stan struggles to remember one good memory. And yet the episode ends on bit of a compassionate note for Mr. Hankey while being a bit too self-congratulatory toward the citizens of South Park, who banish him. Because Mr. Hankey is so clearly a Barr stand-in perhaps its best to give the show the benefit of the doubt on this one and let it have its “little pat on the back.” Just like Barr had a long history of being offensive before the tweet that ended it all, Mr. Hankey has always had an angry streak that South Park glossed over. Only reacting when these two are at their worst isn’t a great look, and maybe that’s what the episode is trying to highlight.

But because this is South Park, the cheekily named “The Problem with a Poo” ends on a gut punch that may be the most incendiary part of the episode. After Mr. Hankey is banished, Randy says that he’s has to find “a place that accepts racist, awful beings like him.” The next scene shows Mr. Hankey in a version of Springfield being welcomed by The Simpsons‘ most problematic character, Apu. Oof, but still better than how The Simpsons handled its controversy.

New episodes of South Park premiere on Comedy Central Wednesdays at 10/9c.

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