Will Viacom Keep Tom Cruise in the Closet?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Politics
A couple days ago, I posted about the supposed controversy around the
South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet" being pulled by parent company Viacom, ostensibly in response
to Tom Cruise threatening to pull ads for Mission: Impossible: 3 if the episode was aired. Daily
Variety reported yesterday that an anonymous Cruise spokesman denied the allegations, but an interesting statement from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt
Stone - signed "Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu" - seems to indicate
otherwise. Parker and Stone were reportedly told not to discuss the reasons behind the episode being pulled, but did
anyone really expect those boys to stay muzzled for long? I think not.
Now the heavies are getting into the game. Jim Emerson, writing on the Scanners blog on Roger Ebert's website, wrote earlier this week about the brouhaha around Isaac Hayes' abrupt departure from South Park, and yesterday posted another lengthy piece about the issue of Scientology and the First Amendment. Now even Andrew Sullivan is getting on the bandwagon, urging his readers to demand the airing of "Trapped in the Closet" and, while they're at it, to boycott Mission: Impossible: 3. Rolling Stone has a really good in-depth article on Scientology in general, as well - one of the few pieces with which the Scientology bigwigs actually cooperated. It's long, but an engrossing read.
It'll be interesting to see on which horn of this little dilemma the folks at Viacom will choose to impale themselves. Piss off mega-movie-star and high-level Scientologist Cruise and run the episode again, to prove to everyone they weren't lying out their asses when they claimed they only pulled the episode in order to run episodes featuring Hayes, in a farewell tribute? Or piss off their viewers, South Park fans, Parker and Stone, and defenders of the First Amendment in general by keeping the episode, well, in the closet?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-18-2006 @ 7:35PM
Carol Neumann said...
I think everyone is fed up with Tom Cruise and his "relligious" convictions from post partum depression to the control of how poor Katie Holmes is required to have HER baby per scientology.
Reply
3-19-2006 @ 6:03AM
Tudor said...
I'm a big fan of South Park. Till now, I had no ideea about scientology and what is all about with that "religion". Issac Hayes had no problem and no objection about other jokes on religions, is prettty stupid his attitude... Tom Cruise.. lame!
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3-19-2006 @ 10:39AM
Eric said...
Multiple copies can be found at www.youtube.com. Just type the episode title into the search box. Funny!
Reply
3-19-2006 @ 12:50PM
Ford Greene said...
The Tom Cruise Scientology attack on South Park's satire of L. Ron Hubbard’s science fiction religion is the Western equivalent of the Muslim violent intolerance of cartoons satirizing their prophet. Each takes itself with a deadly seriousness that drives an inability to tolerate ridicule and criticism. The ugly fundamentalist truth is that both Scientology's retribution and censorship of critics whom it objectifies as "suppressive persons" and the Muslim vow to kill "infidels" will smartly dispose of non-believers when either religion runs the show.
It's a pity Viacom’s greed and fear fuel the corporate corruption that enables the Scientology censorship agenda.
South Park forever!
Reply
3-19-2006 @ 4:50PM
eric said...
wow, tom cruise coming out ot the closet. rock hudson would be proud.
Reply
3-19-2006 @ 8:34PM
rtms said...
I don't get all the fuss about it. The episode already aired a couple of months ago, they made thier intial money. Wait for it on DVD and watch until your blue in the face and give Viacom your money in return. Their making a big fuss over nothing.
Reply