Isaac Hayes Quits 'South Park'

[deadparrot]

NEW YORK - Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.

Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

"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 soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060313/ap_en_tv/people_isaac_hayes

[no name no slogan]

1. oh good maybe Mr. Derp will return

that guy's hilarious.

DERP!

[AllegroRondo]

2. What religion HASNT South Park insulted?

but when they finally get around to Scientology, Hayes has a problem with it?

[lithiumbomb]

16. really...

Southpark has insulted pretty much everyone across the board except Scientology - until last fall. I won't fault him for leaving, that's his business. The show will certainly survive. But for him to just now realize that the show is offensive is a bit hypocritical.

Come out of the closet Tom...

[asthmaticeog]

3. It's because they thoroughly torpedoed Scientology.

Notice that he wasn't so full of dismay the zillions of times they've gone after Jews, Catholics, Fundies, Mormons...

Yeah, he's got a swell voice, but fuck him inside-out with a full complement of garden tools, he's a hypocritical creep.

[Orsino]

6. He obviously has quite a sense of humor to play the part...

...but he has, just as obviously, demonstrated the limits of that sense of humor.

"Tom Cruise will not come out of the closet!"

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. I think you found the problem - they finally went after Scientology

and now that asshole is "offended".

Or, quite possibly, the Scientology Home Office put a fatwa on him if he continued with South Park. That wouldn't surprise me at all, either.

Fuck Scientologists. Creepy-ass motherfuckers, that's for sure.

[philosophie_en_rose]

20. Exactly. He's a hypocrite.

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians."

[tuvor]

33. Just found out about this, and that was my first thought, too.

I've laughed when they've poked fun at my beliefs. C'mon, Isaac, your turn. Suck it up.

[asthmaticeog]

35. Exactly.

I was raised Jewish. We get it practically every fucking episode. Suck it up, Isaac, ya wuss. :eyes:

[Blue-Jay]

38. By the way...

Gimme some of that Jew Gold. I know you have some.

Seriously - Of all the things to get offended by, Mr Hayes chooses science fiction?!? That makes me sad.

[asthmaticeog]

40. "Jew Gold"

That would be an amusing name for a grade of pot.

[bridgit]

4. good for him, they've made quite enough money on being so stupid...

[arwalden]

5. That Voice Is So Easily Imitated, They Can Keep The Character...

... and Hayes will never be missed. See ya!


Isaac Hayes

[bridgit]

8. got that right, hubby does a great i. hayes, "i'm gonna lick your thunder

valley; i'm gonna kiss your poker chips..." :rofl:

[Dukkha]

25. Hell even the great Jim Henson was replaced

if great icons like Kermit The Frog & Ernie are allowed to continue with different voice talent than Hayes is very easily replaceable. The Chef character is barely used anymore anyways.

[Giant Robot]

42. C'mon

knowing South Park, they will try and satire this event as well. I think we can all see this coming.

[johnnie]

9. Don't mess with Xenu

Or whatever the hell the main alien's name is.

I wonder if he will stick to his beliefs enough to give up any of the money he has coming to him for being in that sacrilegious show. :shrug:

[FVZA_Colonel]

15. It is Xenu.

[johnnie]

18. Sorry

If you are a Scientologist.

[FVZA_Colonel]

23. Oh, I am not.

I just wanted to clarify. One of my favorite websites is Operation Clambake.

[Call Me Wesley]

10. Is Hayes 'clear' yet?

[no name no slogan]

43. ...

:spray:

Damn. You know that you'll NEVER, EVER make it to OC3 now, right ensign? :D

[Call Me Wesley]

44. Funny you.

I am an OT VIII, therefore I can do that. :P

[JitterbugPerfume]

11. I love SouthPark

but sometimes they go WAY over the line of my comfort zone

[Ron Mexico]

12. Did anyone see him on Conan about a week ago?

Complete waste of time. Eight minutes of music, about five lines from him.

I agree with every anti-Hayes thing said in this thread as of this writing. His outrage is selective and curiously timed, and it isn't as if it'll be tough to duolicate the voice. Hell, I could probably do it.

[Bombtrack]

39. he needs to atleast record a "goodbye children" to one character

[philosophie_en_rose]

13. Chef will live on (in pre-recorded "Hello, Children"s)

Isaac Hayes can be replaced with pre-recorded messages and sound-alikes. :hi:

[ET Awful]

14. David Miscavige must have gotten peeved and told him he was

out-ethics and in danger of being declared an SP. OSA probably had a little talk with him and told him they'd put him on RPF.

:P

(Yes, all those acronyms and terms are real Scientology mumbo jumbo i.e.: SP - Suppressive Person, or anyone critical of Scientology; OSA - Office of Special Affairs or Scientologies own SS; RPF - Rehabilitation Project Force, kind of a punishment unit for people that question their superiors in the "church"; out-ethics - not being completely in line with what the "church" wants from you, this varies with the mood of the various orgs and their "leadership". David Miscavige is the current head of the entire organization).

[Call Me Wesley]

17. How dare you

giving our secrets away?!

Say 'goodbye' to your captain's uniform now. You're not longer sailing, buddy!

P. S. Oh yes, I sue you too. In England!

[ET Awful]

19. LMAO

Fine, go ahead, see if I care.

:P

I'm not going to let you trap me like you did Keith Henson for making a simple joke about a "Tom Cruise Missile". Can you believe they successfully prosecuted someone for making a bad joke?

[Call Me Wesley]

21. Like L. Ron Hubbard once said,

sueing is not about winning but to bankrupt your enemy. And they have a lot of money to spend on lawsuits. How much is an OT 7 (Tom Cruise)?

They're not considered a church in Switzerland, so they have to pay taxes. They hate it. ;)

[khashka]

24. They are evil bastards....

Used to be an anonymous remailer in Finland. And he just remailed something critical of Scientology - he didn't say it, he didn't write it. And they broke him with lawsuits.

The major US networks won't criticize Scientology because of their massive cadre of lawyers.


It's just sick.....


Khash.

[redwitch]

30. the next thing he'll be giving away the secret handshake

!

[no name no slogan]

29. you are the most unclear person I know

you need to lose those thetans if you're ever going to get to OC3.

[ET Awful]

32. Hehehehe

I like being opaque. It's so much more fun than being clear :evilgrin:

[khashka]

22. Yeah funny....

Didn't bother him at all when they bashed Christians and Jews and homosexuals and women and damn near everyone else.

But now he's got a dog in the race it's all different.

Hypocrite.


Khash.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

26. Who didn't see that one coming?

A&E had a two-hour special a couple of years ago called "Inside Scientology." Hayes was interviewed extensively, and for whatever it's worth, he's 1000% into Scientology.

South Park has poked fun at Scientology in the past, and Hayes has pretty much turned his head the other way. I'm convinced that the South Park creators WANTED to "cross a line" with the recent episode, and Hayes has every right to say "adios."

He's right..."Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored." When someone tries to strong-arm you into accepting their beliefs, then you can let them have it with both barrels. Until then, maybe STFU is a good strategy.

But South Park is satire, and America is built on freedom of speech, so I'm sure Parker and Stone assumed there was a MINIMUM 50-50 chance of Hayes taking a walk. It was a risk they were willing to take, so they can enjoy the results that they created.

[philosophie_en_rose]

27. Maybe Isaac's acceptance of so many paychecks would indicate otherwise.

Why would Parker & Stone assume that Hayes would walk? They might have easily assumed that the deep and cutting satire of other religions would imply that persons associated with South Park have a sense of humor regarding religion.

Not to mention, Hayes had a contract. Stone & Parker (and Comedy Central) are generously letting Hayes walk. Hayes sounds really ungrateful.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

28. I dunno...so many possible angles to this one...

...and yeah, there have been many Christian-based satires on the show that didn't result in a Hayes exit, so I do wonder why he's not as upset over those.

And yes, Parker and Stoner were under no obligation to let him simply walk away from the contract.

I'm just saying that they had to know who they were dealing with, and they had to assume that REALLY pissing him off and offending him was a possibility...and I wonder if he actually watched any episodes of the show, or simply did voice-overs...

:shrug:

[Squirm]

37. to spend more time with the family perhaps (yeah right)

I rarely take any press statements from celebrities and politicians at face value. There's always the real reason, then there's the "getting the most bang for your publicity buck". Think about it, Hayes knows leaving S.P. will make a small stir, and he gets only one shot to put either the best or at least a "strategic" face on it. For all you know, he and Kenny were slated to go on a little adventure in an upcoming episode anyways, so what the hell.

I'll go out on a limb... Hayes will wash up somewhere down the road, 6 months from now, running for some public office on a right wing ticket. Right wingers really go for such do-nothing, judgmental stances, and perhaps he is giving the wink and the nod. As far as throwing away good money because Scientology put the pressure on him... nah. The Scientologists seems to be a little more shrewd at business than that. I don't know what reading for a South Park character pays, but it sure pays more than NOT doing the readings. Unlike acting which requires schedule commitments for on-scene or on-location work, reading can be done anytime, so its not like he is missing prospects by working the South Park gig. More work means more $$$ for Hayes which would inevitably mean more $$$ for the Church of Appliantology.

I'm aware the Church spends a hefty amount of its member's money on P.R., however I don't think they're dumb enough to believe that Chef really has that much influence on anyone's chances of joining or continuing membership in the cult. Hell, I had no idea he was even associated with it until I read it on this board. In fact, before tonight, I could've SWORN I heard that he died a few years back of diabetes complications or something. Apparently not.

[AussieDave]

31. Well there you go - I had no idea about any of this

I must live under a rock or something.

Too bad - he's certainly replaceable, but there's nothing like the original "Chef".

Hasta la vista, Isaac baby !!!!

[Kat45]

34. Wow! Isaac Hayes is a scientologist??

Didn't expect to read that.

[Misunderestimator]

41. Yeah, that's just too damn bad.

And wow... he's a submissive one at that. Amazing.

[TroubleMan]

36. Damn....that's too bad.

Anyway....if you weren't offended by the first few seasons, how are you gonna be offended now? Sure they did one on Scientology, but now he's whining?



Wow, I haven't used the waaaaaaaaambulance in years, and this is my second time in a week.