Truth behind huge South Park mystery finally ‘revealed’ after 19 years

The truth behind Isaac Hayes’ exit from South Park has reportedly finally been revealed.

The late musician, who died in 2008 aged 65, voiced the character Chef in the animated comedy series from 1997 until 2006.

He left the show after an episode aired in 2005, titled Trapped in the Closet, which took aim at Scientology.

It had previously been revealed that Hayes, a Scientologist himself, tried to have the episode unsuccessfully canned, and later quit, saying in a statement: ‘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.’

‘As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.’

Further details surrounding his exit have now been revealed, after a Scientology memo, written the day after the episode aired, has surfaced.

Written by former Scientology executive Mike Rinder, who left the Church of Scientology (which the likes of Tom Cruise and John Travolta are said to be a part of), the memo stated that the episode was ‘a total joking and degrading of Scientology, Tom Cruise and John Travolta’.

The Daily Beast also claims the memo says that Hayes had been ‘very p***ed’ about the episode after being briefed on the show.

‘He said he had had it with the show and is going to quit. This is not being done today so as not to create a media incident,’ it reportedly states.

The publication also notes that the memo repeats that Hayes chose to leave South Park over the episode, though it is not clear if that decision had been his own.

Rinder also told The Daily Beast: ‘Isaac placed a call to Doug Herzog, the President of Comedy Central, to get them not to re-air the program.’

The memo also reportedly ends with a three-part plan about the South Park episode, including that Hayes would ‘handle’ creators Matt Stone and Terry Parker and Herzog to convince them to never re-air the episode.

Hayes also reportedly wanted Comedy Central to cut ties with Mark Ebner, who consulted on the programme, accusing him of being a ‘racist’ and a ‘bigot’ and accusing him of calling Hayes a racist term, which Ebner denied ever using to The Daily Beast.

The suggestions Hayes made in the memo were never followed, it’s claimed, as Ebner continued working with Comedy Central, and the episode was nominated for an Emmy.

Stone and Parker have also previously spoken about how Scientology led to Hayes’ exit from South Park.

‘When we did the Scientology episode, [Hayes] came over, and I sat with him,’ Stone told The Hollywood Reporter.

‘It was like a day or two after, and it was pretty obvious from the conversation that somebody had sent him to ask us to pull the episode.

‘It had already gone on the air, and we didn’t tell him because we didn’t want him to be held accountable. Plausible deniability.’

But Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, who was also at the same interview, said his father was unwell at the time and ‘did not quit South Park’ but that ‘someone quit South Park for him.’

‘What happened was that in January 2006 my dad had a stroke and lost the ability to speak. He really didn’t have that much comprehension, and he had to relearn to play the piano and a lot of different things,’ he said.

‘He was in no position to resign under his own knowledge. At the time, everybody around my father was involved in Scientology — his assistants, the core group of people. So someone quit South Park on Isaac Hayes’ behalf. We don’t know who.’

‘It really sucked, the whole thing. This statement put out that he was quitting, it kind of called us bigots,’ Stone added, with Parker also saying: ‘But we knew in our hearts there was something way more rotten going on.’

Metro.co.uk hasapproached The Church of Scientology for comment.