"Pretty standard": Fans react to Comedy Central pulling South Park episode mimicking Charlie Kirk shortly after his death

On September 10, 2025, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The killing happened during a public Q&A and was widely reported by major outlets.

Weeks earlier, South Park had aired an episode called Got a Nut in which Eric Cartman, a character who seemingly parodied Kirk, engages in campus debates and makes controversial statements.

Following Kirk’s death, Comedy Central has removed the episode from its scheduled cable reruns, sparking reactions online. While the episode is still available on some streaming services, Redditors are reacting to the network's decision to pull the episode from cable. u/travio, for instance, commented on a post in r/televison, saying,

“Pretty standard. The Simpson's pulled the episode that featured the World Trade Center after 9/11. They won't keep this episode off the air as long, but a few days at least."

Fans react as Comedy Central pulls South Park episode rerun

Many more users shared their opinions. Some of the reactions are mentioned below:

u/slyfly5 commented,

“I mean Charlie Kirk himself thought it was hella funny.”

u/GarlVinland4Astrea commented,

“I mean that's not shocking tbh. He died like a few hours ago. One day of pulling something where he is clearly satired isn't going to end the world. Then again, this is how they cancelled Laverne and Shirley.”

u/bongo1138 wrote,

"Honestly the polite thing to do."

While @mitrie commented,

“Looks like we'll have to wait 22.3 years for it to be funny again...”

While @lil_layne said,

“What exactly does this accomplish? It’s not like the episode is even distasteful since Charlie Kirk himself couldn’t stop boasting about how he was featured on South Park.”

What happened in South Park's 'Got a Nut' Episode

Season 27, Episode 2 of South Park, Got a Nut featured Cartman adopting a loud, debate-style persona that seemingly parodied Kirk. The story also included Mr. Mackey in a subplot about immigration enforcement. The episode ended with a satirical award called the “Charlie Kirk Award for Young Master Debaters.”

Kirk had previously reacted to the parody with amusement, saying he found it funny.

Why do networks sometimes pull material after a death?

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Television channels often change schedules after a high-profile death to avoid appearing insensitive. Pulling an episode is not the same as removing it forever. Networks may pause a rerun or replace it with other content. In this case, Comedy Central pulled the cable rerun but did not immediately remove streaming availability, according to reports.

The episode and the network’s response have reignited debate over satire and public safety.

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