This Is What Destroyed 'Chef's' Relationship With 'South Park'
Chef was, without a doubt, one of the most beloved characters of the first nine seasons of South Park. In those years, Kyle, Kenny, Stan, and Cartman needed a school mentor who would advise them on adult problems from behind the cafeteria counter. And they probably could've used Chef's sex-obsessed advice in later years. However, the actor who voiced the purposefully stereotypical Black elementary school cook eventually had some major problems with the creators of South Park (Matt Stone and Trey Parker) as well as the show itself.
Some claim that the man behind Chef, the late Isaac Hayes, decided to put his foot down with the South Park creators over a few jokes they made on the show, while others close to Isaac say that there was another reason why Isaac publically criticized the show in 2006 before quitting the show altogether. Here's what actually happened...
The Public Reason Isaac Gave For Quitting The Show
Isaac Hayes' chef was involved in some of the most controversial episodes of South Park as well as the South Park Movie: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. But the edgiest and boundary-pushing episodes to tend come with some pretty nuanced discussions about hard topics such as racism, tribalism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, environmentalism, politics, and the nature of being human. Chef was often involved with these discussions, signally that Isaac Hayes knew exactly what the creators of South Park were doing and continue to do with their show.
In their minds, and in the minds of their millions of fans, Matt and Trey are constantly shedding light on both the absurdities and complexities of every aspect of society through the eyes of the immature children that exist within each of us. This is something they claim their sworn enemy Family Guy isn't capable of. But their writers and stars are well aware of what they're doing, which is why it's so strange that Isaac Hayes so publically turned against them partway through South Park's lengthy and ongoing run.
In 2006, Isaac Hayes released a lengthy public statement claiming that South Park had moved from satire into intolerance, referencing an episode where they targetted Scientology. Fans of the show will remember the episode as the one where Tom Cruise and John Travolta "won't come out of the closet" and where Stan is named as the successor of L. Ron Hubbard, the science-fiction writer who created Scientology.
"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," Isaac Hayes said in the statement. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."
Isaac's "Hypocrisy" Angered Matt And Trey
While the real-life soul singer seemed to be fine with South Park satirizing the strangest and worst elements of other religions, cults, and creeds, (or basically anybody or anything under the sun) Isaac wasn't happy that they went after the one that he was involved with. The level of hypocrisy was clearly something that Matt and Trey didn't appreciate, as the two make a point of making fun of any and every side to any given argument.
Just nine days after Isaac quit South Park, Matt and Trey wrote an episode entitled "The Return Of Chef", which repurposed some of Isaac's dialogue in order to bring the character back after a disappearance only to reveal that he had been hypnotized by a group of pedophiles who turned him into one of them. The episode ends with Chef falling to his death and being eaten by a bunch of grizzlies and cougars.
In the episode, Isaac's character is eulogized by Kyle who stated, "We shouldn't be mad at Chef for leaving us, we should be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains."
In short, Matt and Trey found a way of further satirizing Scientology as well as Isaac Hayes himself for abandoning the show in the way that he did. To further flip Isaac the bird, Matt and Trey brought the mauled version of Chef back to life in a Darth Vader outfit in a scene lifted from the end of Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith. Fans seemed to think that Matt and Trey were going to use Darth Chef in further episodes but they purposefully didn't. Instead, they have only referenced Chef a couple of times in later episodes.
Isaac's Son Says That He Was Forced To Quit South Park By The Church
Two years after Isaac quit South Park, the acclaimed singer passed away of a stroke. It's unclear and highly unlikely that he and Matt and Trey made up prior. In 2016, Isaac Hayes son, Isaac Hayes III, publicly claimed that he was forced to quit South Park by the Church of Scientology.
"Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park; someone quit South Park for him. What happened was that in January 2006 my dad had a stroke and lost the ability to speak. He really didn't have that much comprehension, and he had to relearn to play the piano and a lot of different things. He was in no position to resign under his own knowledge. At the time, everybody around my father was involved in Scientology --- his assistants, the core group of people. So someone quit South Park on Isaac Hayes' behalf. We don't know who."
Matt and Trey backed up Isaac Hayes III's comments to The Hollywood Reporter about why his father quit South Park and said that they were deeply unhappy with being called a vehicle for "bigotry". This is something Isaac Hayes III claims was not something his father actually believed.
"My father was not that big of a hypocrite to be part of a show that would constantly poke fun at African-American people, Jewish people, gay people --- and only quit when it comes to Scientology. He wouldn't be that hypocritical."
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