In perhaps its first major sign of censorship worries, Comedy Central semi-balked at the episode's contents in the wake of global concerns about the Jyllands-Posten cartoon controversy in 2005 that led to real-world violence in some areas. While some fans may have hoped the eps would make their way back into the full lineup, that may very well never happen. Rather, that decision was already a reality before the HBO Max deal went into effect, with Comedy Central and parent company ViacomCBS having previously limited each of the episodes' availability in one way or another. To clarify, HBO Max's execs weren't responsible for deciding to excise South Park episodes before it went live on the streaming service. And I'm sure many are also aware that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have had little issue with taking aim at various religions over the show's 23-season run so far, with Jesus Christ himself being part of the show since the beginning. As many readers are likely aware, followers of the Islamic faith prohibit visual iterations of Muhammad and other prophets, including drawings, cartoons, statues, etc. Almost fitting for the milestone 200th episode of this show, really.The five South Park episodes that weren't part of HBO Max's streaming deal all feature depictions of the Islam prophet Muhammad (even if some depictions were already edited upon the initial airing). Comedy Central does not re-air them in any form, they are not accessible via legal streaming, and ‘201’ appears in its censored state on the DVD release of Season 14. The government of Sri Lanka also banned the show entirely for a brief shot of Buddha snorting cocaine. The episodes themselves were quite funny, but the controversy surrounding them elevates them to a sort of fabled status. Even audio uses of Muhammad’s name got bleeped out. While 200 aired uncensored, the successor episode received heavy editing. Anderson Cooper called the idea that a cartoon could generate such threats “chilling”.
The threats and Comedy Central’s refusal to show images of Muhammad, as well as to censor and refuse rebroadcast of the two episodes, stirred discussion among news communities. They insult our prophets Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses.” The author of the post tweeted earlier “May Allah kill Matt Stone and Trey Parker and burn them in Hell for all eternity. Van Gogh released a documentary concerning violence against women in Muslim communities, and was murdered in 2004 for it. The site also said that they could “end up like Theo Van Gogh”. Radical group Revolution Muslim posted on their site that the show’s creators risked retribution.
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