Chef — 1997-2006.
The ever popular character from South Park, Chef’s real life counterpart, Isaac Hayes, has decided that he wants no more to do with the show due to the stance on religion that it was taking.
There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins. Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored.As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.
Matt Stone responded to the Associated Press with this:
This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology… He has no problem — and he’s cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians. We 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.
This is definitely a sad turn of events and quite a surprising one considering the length of time that Isaac has been with the crew of South Park and the topics the show has covered over the years. Whatever his reasons, people will miss the voice of Isaac Hayes as Chef.