Isaac Hayes’ son reveals he was forced by Scientology leaders to quit ‘South Park’
The son of the late Isaac Hayes has revealed that the star did not quit his voice acting role on South Park, as rumours stated. Instead, “someone else within his Scientology circle made that decision and quit the show for him.”
For the first nine seasons of the series, Hayes lent his voice to the character of Chef. However, an episode that made fun of Scientologists, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta, seemed to be the tipping point for Hayes, who was also a practising Scientologist.
Since his death at 65 in 2008, only two years after he quit the show, many still aren’t entirely sure of the whole story. His son, Isaac Hayes III, acknowledged that in the all-telling post on X. He began, “For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father left ‘South Park.’ I’m here to set the record straight. My dad did not quit ‘South Park.’ Scientology did.”
The post continued, “After the episode ‘Trapped in the Closet’ aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few months later that left him unable to speak or make decisions on his own. He was not in any condition to resign from anything. The truth is, someone else within his Scientology circle made that decision and quit the show for him.”
It continued, “The narrative that he quit because he was offended by the satire is not true. That was a cover story created by others. My father never got to speak for himself because his health robbed him of that chance. So now I am speaking for him,” his son wrote defiantly.
With great clarity, Hayes concluded, “He did not leave ‘South Park’ willingly. He was forced out by illness and by people who did not have his best interest at heart. This is for anyone who loved Chef. This is for anyone who admired my father’s work. This is the truth about what really happened.”
Originally, it was thought Comedy Central and co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were not best pleased with this decision. “Isaac never had a problem with the show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons, or Jews,” was the TV station’s official response from the creative team. “He got a sudden case of religious sensitivity when it was his religion featured on the show.”
They have yet to comment on the new information.
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