South Park creators reveal Scientology made Isaac Hayes stop voicing chef

Hayes son spoke candidly with the pair, saying: 'My Father did not quit South Park; someone quit South Park for him'

The 20th season of South Park is set to air imminently, creators - Matt Stone and Trey Parker - candidly talking to The Hollywood Reporter about the show’s long history.

Notably, the pair spoke about Chef voice actor Isaac Hayes’ mysterious departure in 2005 following the release of 'Trapped in the Closet,’ an episode poking fun at Scientology.

"When we did the Scientology episode, [Isaac Hayes, who was a Scientologist] came over, and I sat with him,” Stone told the publication. “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. [Four months after ‘Closet’ aired, Hayes quit the show via a statement, supposedly in protest.]”

Hayes son, Hayes III, who was also in attendance during the interview, then revealed that his father “did not quit South Park; someone quit South Park for him.”

He explained: “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 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.

“My father was not that big of a hypocrite to be part of a show that would constantly poke fun at African-American people, Jewish people, gay people — and only quit when it comes to Scientology. He wouldn't be that hypocritical.”

Stone added that the statement that was issued certainly wasn’t the full story, Parker adding: “We knew in our hearts there was something way more rotten going on.”

Recently, South Park launched a ‘smell-o-vision’ virtual reality game to celebrate the release of the video game, South Park: The Fractured But Whole.