Late last week, we told you Comedy Central quietly pulled the "South Park" episode featuring Cartman as a parody of the late TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk from rotation. The episode is still available to those who subscribe to Paramount+. Kirk himself was amused by the episode and leaned into the joke, and our own Matt Vespa said that "South Park" didn't have to pull that episode.
Yesterday, the Hollywood Reporter ran a story that claimed MAGA was blaming that "South Park" episode for the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
MAGA Blames ‘South Park’ for Charlie Kirk Assassination as Comedy Central Pulls Episode https://t.co/0QRvX1XLtt
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 14, 2025
The Hollywood Reporter cited the New York Post's reporting, which made the following claim about a statement from Jesse Kelly:
Right-wing radio host Jesse Kelly told his listeners: “’South Park’ thought it was funny to turn Charlie into a cartoon joke. Now his wife is planning a funeral.”
The Wayback Machine at Archive.org has the original New York Post story with the revisions.
Kelly, understandably, objected to this quote and said it was "completely fabricated."
Hey @THR and @JamesHibberd, there is a quote in this article supposedly from me. It’s completely fabricated. As in, you came up with it out of thin air. I don’t even agree with the quote.
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) September 15, 2025
It would be a good idea to retract and apologize right about now. https://t.co/2kDYPCVBDd
The author of the Hollywood Reporter piece responded.
Hi, good morning. I added this note the story: "An earlier version of this article cited and linked a major media outlet quoting multiple conservative figures criticizing South Park over Kirk's killing. These quotes were denied on social media and that outlet has since deleted…
— James Hibberd (@JamesHibberd) September 15, 2025
Hibberd added the correction at the end of the Hollywood Reporter story, and it reads, "Note: An earlier version of this article cited and linked a major media outlet quoting multiple conservative figures criticizing South Park over Kirk’s killing. The outlet has since deleted these quotes and they were denied as being real on social media."
Questions, however, remain: how did that quote get into the article in the first place? Kelly says it was made up "out of thin air" and that he didn't even agree with the sentiment behind the quote. Most conservatives have followed Kirk's lead in finding the "South Park" episode amusing and none asked for it to be pulled -- that was a decision made by Comedy Central.
For his part, Kelly is satisfied with the correction, replying to Hibber that things are "all good."