New Paramount CEO Praises South Park Creators as ‘Equal Opportunity Offenders’ — But Admits He Hasn’t Seen Latest Episode

Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

David Ellison, the new CEO of the post-merger Paramount, had strong words of praise for the outspoken creators of South Park — although he acknowledged he hadn’t yet seen the latest episode, another brutal skewering of the Trump administration.

The Paramount-Skydance merger officially closed Thursday after months of controversy, including Paramount settling a lawsuit with President Donald Trump regarding a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris despite what many legal experts viewed as a strong First Amendment defense, the resignation of a veteran 60 Minutes producer, public criticism from the program’s reporters, and the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — as the host Stephen Colbert continues to lob insults, not just at the Trump administration, but also at his own network brass.

South Park came out swinging for its twenty-seventh season, viciously mocking Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in the first two episodes that have aired so far — along with their parent company.

The White House reacted with fury, issuing a statement insisting the show “hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years.” The South Park creators fired back in their trademark fashion, replying to a DHS tweet that included a screenshot from their show, saying, “Wait, so we ARE relevant?” and a hashtag encouraging DHS to “eat a bag of dicks.”

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter interviewed Ellison in the wake of the merger and asked the CEO about South Park’s sharp lampooning of the Trump administration.

The 42-year-old Ellison, who would have been 14 when South Park debuted, told Stelter that he was a longtime fan of the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

“Matt and Trey are incredibly talented,” he said. “They are equal opportunity offenders and always have been.”

Ellison also pointed to the show’s profitability, which led to Paramount’s recent five-year deal to lock down both 50 new episodes and the streaming rights to the more than 300 episodes in its back catalog — a valuable subscriber draw for Paramount+.

Still, Stelter noted, media observers have wondered if South Park’s acerbic wit could create problems by inviting a harsh crackdown from the Trump administration.

The Comedy Central show certainly is a key asset for Paramount. But it has emerged this summer as one of the most scathing critics of President Trump on US television, raising concerns about whether Paramount has the stomach for the political headaches that could follow.

“I do not want to politicize our company in any way, shape or form,” Ellison told Stelter. He was also able to avoid directly answering questions about South Park’s political satire, because he had not yet seen the episode.