South Park just couldn't wait to ridicule LeBron James over his controversial China comments.
The Comedy Central series, which has been mocking the Chinese government throughout its most recent season and is famous for its episodes' quick turnaround, on Wednesday called out the NBA superstar for criticizing Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's tweet supporting the pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters. When the NBA initially distanced itself from Morey's tweet, the league was roundly criticized in the United States from those who said it was kowtowing to the Chinese government.
James weighed in Monday, and subsequently came under fire, by saying Morey was "misinformed." He also said, "Yes, we all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others and you're only thinking about yourself."
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The creators of South Park were quick to mock James for this, doing so by inserting his quote into the mouth of the notoriously vile Eric Cartman, notes The Hollywood Reporter. In the new episode "Let Them Eat Goo," Cartman, furious about students protesting for healthy options at lunch, uses James' quote word for word, saying, "Yes, we all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others and you’re only thinking about yourself!" Cartman also sings and dances about "Taco Tuesday," which James tried and failed to trademark.
South Park already aired an episode earlier this season highly critical of China and of American companies who tailor content to appeal to Chinese censors, an episode that subsequently got the entire show banned on the Chinese internet. But creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone only doubled down, in the very next episode having Randy Marsh declare, "f— the Chinese government."
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