South Park Satirizes Trump After $1.5B Paramount Deal

The 27th season premiere of South Park, titled "Sermon on the ‘Mount," marked the show's return after a two-year hiatus, delivering a sharp satire of President Donald Trump and the media landscape. The episode controversially depicted Trump in bed with Satan, using hyper-realistic animation and real images of Trump's face, and portrayed him suing the fictional town of South Park for $5 billion over protests, a fictional scenario echoing Trump's real-life $16 million settlement with Paramount over a lawsuit involving CBS' 60 Minutes. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone also targeted their new corporate parent, Paramount Global, in the episode, which aired just hours after signing a $1.5 billion deal for 50 new episodes and exclusive streaming rights on Paramount+. The satire extended to mocking Trump’s censorship of NPR and his nationalist blunders, including confusing Iran and Iraq during a call with the Canadian Prime Minister. The show also referenced Paramount’s controversial merger with Skydance Media and the recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, suggesting corporate pressure linked to Trump’s influence. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers dismissed the show’s criticism, describing it as "hanging on by a thread," underscoring the ongoing cultural clash between the Trump administration and media satire.