(The Hill) — Paramount’s new CEO David Ellison lauded animated show “South Park” creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, for being “equal opportunity offenders” as the sitcom has made headlines mocking President Trump recently.
“Matt and Trey are incredibly talented,” Ellison said in an interview with CNN that was published on Friday. “They are equal opportunity offenders and always have been.”
Paramount and Skydance formalized their $8 billion merger on Thursday after months of debate, bringing “South Park” and other entities such as CBS and MTV under Ellison’s ownership.
Previous Paramount owners agreed in early July to pay $16 million to the president’s future presidential library after Trump sued over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Harris.
“South Park” has not shied away from mocking the current administration and its policies, leveling jabs against Trump, Vice President Vance and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
During the latest episode, titled “Got a Nut,” the show made fun of Noem’s looks and mocked the immigration raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In response, Noem said the show’s depiction of her was “lazy,” arguing it was a pattern of making fun of women for “how they look.”
The White House has also previously fired back at “South Park,” claiming the show has been irrelevant for over two decades.
Ellison on Thursday said that he was not involved with CBS’ settlement.
“I do not want to politicize our company in any way, shape or form,” Ellison told CNN when asked if he agreed separately to broadcast causes that are aligned with the current administration.
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