Bob Slydell said:
Isaac Hayes quit the show because they were making fun of Scientology (of which he's a member).
Yeah - but theres also reports he suffered a stroke and isnt really in a physical state to make ANY decisions.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188463,00.html
Isaac Hayes did not quit "South Park." My sources say that someone quit it for him.
I can tell you that Hayes is in no position to have quit anything. Contrary to news reports, the great writer, singer and musician suffered a stroke on Jan. 17. At the time it was said that he was hospitalized and suffering from exhaustion.
Its also absolutely ridiculous to think that Hayes, who loved playing Chef on "South Park," would suddenly turn against the show because they were poking fun at Scientology.
Last November, when the Trapped in a Closet episode of the comedy aired, I saw Hayes and spent time with him in Memphis for the annual Blues Ball.
If he hated the show so much, I doubt he would have performed his trademark hit song from the show, Chocolate Salty Balls. He tossed the song into the middle of one of his less salacious hits and got the whole audience in the Memphis Pyramid to sing along.
I can tell you, Hayes was very pleased with himself, was in a great mood and, as always, loved his fans' coming up to him and asking him about Chef.
As recently as early January, before his stroke, Hayes defended the "South Park" creators in an interview with The AV Club, the serious side of the satirical newspaper, The Onion.
AV Club: They did just do an episode that made fun of your religion, Scientology. Did that bother you?
Hayes: Well, I talked to Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker] about that. They didn't let me know until it was done. I said, 'Guys, you have it all wrong. We're not like that. I know that's your thing, but get your information correct, because somebody might believe that [expletive], you know?' But I understand what they're doing. I told them to take a couple of Scientology courses and understand what we do. [Laughs.]
The truth is, Hayes has a sly sense of humor and loves everything about "South Park." Its provided him a much-needed income stream since losing the royalties to the many hits hes written, such as Shaft and Soul Man, in the mid-1970s.
Even though hes one of Americas most prolific hit writers, Hayes has been denied access to profits from his own material for almost 30 years.
But its hard to know anything since Hayes, like Katie Holmes, is constantly monitored by a Scientologist representative most of the time. Luckily, at the Blues Ball he was on his own, partying just with family and friends. He was very excited about having gotten married and about the impending birth of a new child.
Friends in Memphis tell me that Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park. They are mystified.
Isaacs been concentrating on his recuperation for the last two and a half, three months, a close friend told me.
Hayes did not suffer paralysis, but the mild stroke may have affected his speech and his memory. Hes been having home therapy since it happened.
That certainly begs the question of who issued the statement that Hayes was quitting "South Park" now because it mocked Scientology four months ago. If it wasnt Hayes, then who would have done such a thing?
Meantime, Tom Cruise may have gotten Comedy Central to pull its repeat of "South Park"'s Scientology spoof last week, but the result is that episode is all over the Web. You can see it for free at
youtube.com.
Not only that, the Comedy Central Web site has four clips from the 21-minute show. And it also says that Trapped in the Closet will air this Wednesday at 10 p.m.
So whether or not Cruise actually did use influence at Viacom/Paramount to get the show pulled from last weeks schedule, here it is, bigger and better than ever. Of course, no one would have cared one way or another if Trapped simply had aired on schedule.
Of course, no one could blame Cruise, John Travolta or even R&B singer R. Kelly for being upset about the episode. They are poked fun at mercilessly.
In the episode, Stan, one of the "South Park" characters, is solicited into Scientology. He gives them $240 and takes an EMeter test. This convinces the higher-ups that Stan is the reincarnation of the groups founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
That would be bad enough, wouldnt it? But Cruise visits Stan in his bedroom and winds up hiding in his closet when Stan tells him hes not the greatest actor. Thus is born the line Tom Cruise wont come out of the closet.
Its repeated dozens of times. Travolta soon joins Cruise in Stans closet. He wont come out, either. And when they do, there is the ecstatic announcement that theyve come out of the closet.
You get the picture. But nothing in Trapped in the Closet is any worse than anything "South Park" creators Stone and Parker have done before. Just rent Team America and see what I mean.
I might spring for some, myself!
