South Park Watch: Comedy Central Pulls Plug on Showing Muhammed

***Scroll Down for Updates***

Muhammed from the Muhammed Caricatures

Michelle Malkin: “DO THE RIGHT THING! SHOW MOHAMMED”

Everyone’s buzzing about last night’s South Park episode. It’s currently the #1 search term at Technorati. So, did Comedy Central censor Mohammed or not?

Ed Morrissey and Jim Lindgren provide different views.

Bottom line from The Anchoress:

All in all, pretty funny in some places, dumb in others – I really want to know if Comedy Central caved – the message was clear: either itâ€™s all fair game, or nothing is, and to appease is to concede valuable liberties. I concur.

Video highlights at Malcovision, Youtube, or right here

But, there have been updates and there is an uncensored version making its way around P2P internet sites.

***Update: Stephen Spruiell reports at The Media Blog…”I just got off the phone with a Comedy Central spokesman. I asked him about last night’s episode of South Park in which, at a moment right before the prophet Mohammed was supposed to make a cameo, the words, “Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network” appeared on the screen. I asked him whether this truly was Comedy Central’s decision or whether this was just another gag (with South Park, you never know). He said: ‘They reflected it accurately. That was a Comedy Central decision.’ Just in case there was any confusion, that settles it. Comedy Central censored the image.”***

***Update II: Reader Jason E. writes, “The uncensored version of the show is already available on various P2P file sharing sites. I just watched the bit with Mohammed. Itâ€™s the same Mohammed that is shown in previous episodes, he walks in, gives Peter a salmon helmet?, says jihad, jihad a couple times and leaves. OBTW donâ€™t know if you are aware but apparently Mohammed is briefly visible during the opening credits. I was not able to confirm this myself even after several viewings.” (Ed. note: I didn’t see it, either, but several other readers have mentioned this)***

Michelle has the video clips here and here – the censored versions.

Flap will post a link to the uncensored version when he finds one.

***Update ***

Shawn Wasson has a video clip of the “fake” uncensored version.

Brendan Loy has an analysis as to why this video clip is fakery.

And here is an image showing Muhammed in the opening credits to South Park:

***Update End ***

As far as Viacom and Comedy Central, particularly since they wimped out to the Scientologists – Flap says Bleh…..

The creators of South Park, will parody and blaspheme just about any conventional social institution except a simple caricature depicting Muhammed. This comment from the Washington Post piece is most fitting:

A frequent “South Park” critic, William Donohue of the anti-defamation group Catholic League, called on Parker and Stone to resign out of principle for being censored.

“The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central _ that’s their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not _ it’s Parker and Stone,” he said. “Like little whores, they’ll sit there and grab the bucks. They’ll sit there and they’ll whine and they’ll take their shot at Jesus. That’s their stock in trade.”

“South Park” creators Trey Parker, left, and Matt Stone pose at their offices in Los Angeles on Oct. 14, 2005. Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of “South Park” skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon’s most recent episode.

Crap on Bush, Crap on Jesus, Crap on US. Are Parker and Stone Little Whores?

You betcha…..

Will Flap watch South Park, Comedy Central again or frequent their advertisers…..

NOPE……

Comedy Central can go suck GAS……..

Update #1

Kevin at Wizbang has a different explanation.

Really, what other explanation can there be?

South Park airs Part II of their Cartoon Wars storyline and there’s a bit about Comedy Central censoring the image of Mohammed from appearing in the episode. Immediately after that Jesus is shown pooping on an American flag and other people.

There’s all sorts of discussion in the blogosphere about the hidden meanings of the episode and the cowardice of the network. NRO’s Steven Spruiell even contacted the network about the censorship and proclaims their statement, as proof the network silenced the South Park creators – never mind that Mohammed has appeared in previous episodes and is in the intro.

I’m not buying it…

Matt and Trey, with the willing (or unwilling) participation of Comedy Central executives are experimenting with the blogosphere. While it may be true that the network refused to broadcast the image, it’s entirely possible that the they situated Mohammed in an image guaranteed to require censorship. Think bestiality, kiddie porn, goatse.cx, etc…

They’re probably watching the discussion unfold and getting a good laugh out of it… or some fresh material…

Flap doesn’t buy it but then he doesn’t buy Mary Katharine Ham’s APOLOGIA over at Hugh Hewitt’s Blog either.

Seriously, does he not get the joke? The statement that Comedy Central concedes it’s all right to show Jesus defecating on Bush and an American flag, but it’s entirely inappropriate to show Mohammed at all?

That is powerful, and Comedy Central should be utterly ashamed of itself. I’m proud of the South Park boys for going to extra mile to make them ashamed.

I always knew, from the first time I saw an 80-foot, alien-tracking satellite pop out of Cartman’s posterior in Episode 1, that those boys were gonna make something of themselves.

Please send feedback to Comedy Central about the show, here. Yes, they’re crude and lewd and inappropriate for children, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone are also fighting the good fight.

Flap supposes he doesn’t get it……

But, REALLY he doesn’t want South Park and the WHORES Parker and Stone…..
From the Blogosphere:

The Volokh Conspiracy: Did Comedy Central Censor South Park?

Instapundit,

NRO,

the Captain,

Iowa Voice,
Anchoress,

Political Pit Bull,

Right Wing News,

Tammy Bruce,

Coalition of the Swilling,

Malcontent,

You Tube,

TV Squad,