For Isaac Hayes, Delayed Offense

It is with some trepidation that I write about Isaac Hayes and his schism with "South Park," because although I love "South Park," I'm not a religious watcher. There are probably some really good episodes I could've referenced to bolster this posting, if I had only known, so please, add any I might have missed into the comments section below.

Isaac Hayes. (Reuters)

For anyone not already familiar with the story, Hayes, who for nine years has voiced the character Chef on the Comedy Central animated series, quit Monday citing the show's disrespectful treatment of religion.

"There is a place in this world for satire," said Hayes, "but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins." For Hayes, that time was apparently November 2005, when an episode poking fun at Scientology aired; years after the show's reputation for ridiculing Catholics, Mormons, gays, the military, Christmas, potheads, Michael Jackson, and pretty much anything else was well cemented.

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone tells the Associated Press that he "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."

Hayes has been a willing participant in what is arguably one of the crudest shows on cable TV for almost a decade. The character he played routinely sang songs like "The Prostitute Song" and "Sometimes You Kill Your Teacher." Not that there's anything wrong with that. But to suddenly grow a conscience smacks of hypocrisy.

If I were Hayes' publicist (or, like, Church of Scientology handler), I'd be spinning pretty hard right now to get him to reconsider. Resigning shortly after an episode poking fun at Scientology can't help but be viewed as knee jerk and intolerant. It would be like Robin Quivers suddenly disapproving of Howard Stern's jokes about African-Americans, his continued bits with KKK member Daniel Carver or denouncing his naked stripper guests as denigrating to women. Or like Isaac Hayes decrying "Shaft" as blaxploitation.

The Post's Gene Weingarten sums it up nicely: "a central problem here for the Scientology spinners, is that Hayes's action makes Scientologists look like what many, many people assume they are: intolerant, humorless, and under the thrall of a demonic, soul-eating cult that brooks no dissent."

Conveniently, the Scientology-lampooning episode, "Trapped in the Closet" is set to air again tonight on Comedy Central. Dismissed as coincidence.

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