Times South Park Characters Went Too Far

For more than 20 seasons, viewers have tuned into "South Park" for raunchy humor, bold satire, and juvenile jabs at pop culture and popular figures. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's mix of sharp satirical comedy and absurdity has struck a note with millions of viewers while aggravating others. Considering the show's relentless depiction vulgarity centered around children characters, it has inevitably encountered pushback during its run. Despite the controversial nature of the show, the series has also secured multiple Emmys, a Peabody, and has held the title of Comedy Central's most popular program according to Bloomberg. 

While one should expect boundary-pushing depravity from "South Park," sometimes the jokes go just a bit too far. Due to the chaotic nature of the show, the characters in "South Park" have all done something terrible at one point or another, be it intentional or not. Whether it's shocking content involving gore, child endangerment, or even child exploitation, the "South Park" cast has quite the repertoire of dark deeds that have helped to garner the show's highly controversial reputation. With that in mind, here's a look back at some times "South Park" characters went too far.

While Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman have done their fair share of bullying, harassment, and causing general mayhem, the town of South Park as a whole isn't exactly guilt-free. The most egregious example of collective chaos is their treatment of pop sensation Britney Spears.

When the boys realize they can make bank by selling embarrassing pictures of Spears, they decide to get in on the paparazzi action. Once Britney realizes that the boys have scammed her into thinking she will be reunited with her child, the singer attempts to end her life. In a horrific twist, the attempt fails and leaves Britney with a half-blown off head, unable to speak and live her everyday life. While the boys feel extreme guilt for driving Britney to the edge, the town capitalizes on her pain, constantly mocking and ridiculing her for the most inconsequential of things.

In the end, it's revealed that the harassment is all some sort of bizarre sacrificial ritual in which the town berates a preselected teen sensation to death, similar to "The Lottery." They willfully commit collective murder for "the greater good," which is, in this case, a fruitful crop harvest. Though this episode is meant to be a commentary on celebrity mistreatment, it's still one of the most terrifying "South Park" installments to date. The town's glee at the pop star's downfall is horrifying, and the fact that everyone is in on it together and apparently continues the cycle for each new generation of celebrity superstars is deeply unsettling.

While Cartman isn't responsible for summoning Cthulhu, he doesn't have any qualms about using the dark creature to kill his friends and enemies the second it's convenient for him. In fact, after feeling betrayed by his friends, he feels vindicated in doing so. The worst part? Cartman somehow considers himself the good guy and not even someone just blowing off steam in his deluded mind.

Once Cthulhu is unleashed upon the world, Cartman is able to manipulate the creature to do his dark bidding. What exactly does Cartman do with this power? Kill Jews, hippies, and send his so-called friends to a hell-like alternate dimension. It's terrifying enough that Cartman can manipulate Cthulhu, a cosmic horror nightmare, to do whatever he wants. But what makes Cartman's actions really cross the line is how he utilizes Cthulu to make the world a dark and evil place, a world he perceives as "better." We've always known that Cartman is a monster, but apparently, even actual monsters have trouble holding their own against this devilish child.

Like most kids, Cartman is a bit apprehensive when he learns he needs to have his tonsils removed. However, after some reassurance from his mother and the promise of ice cream following the procedure, Cartman willingly goes to the operating table. Unfortunately, his tonsils are removed when he wakes up, but he is also accidentally given a tainted blood transfusion and infected with HIV.

Kyle finds this development to be a hilarious dose of irony and a dose of revenge to Cartman, who regularly treats him poorly. Kyle is unable to contain his laughter, which quickly gets under Cartman's skin. Cartman decides to serve Kyle a dose of revenge and actually infects Kyle with his HIV by giving him a dose of his own blood while he's asleep.

Cartman has committed countless horrors in the past, many of which were directed at Kyle specifically. The two definitely don't get along, often bickering throughout the series. Of course, Cartman's blatant antisemitism and evil schemes are typically the roots of these arguments, but in this, Kyle's lack of empathy toward Cartman's illness can easily be seen as antagonistic. Laughing at someone acquiring HIV, even Cartman, is cruel.

That being said, Cartman's reaction is entirely off the rails. We've seen how monstrous he can be when agitated, but willfully injecting Kyle with HIV, a disease with no known cure, is beyond evil. If it wasn't clear before, Cartman is someone you definitely don't want as your enemy.

In the "South Park Pandemic Special," Randy decides that what the town needs after COVID-19 ravages South Park is a sale from Tegrity Farms. Randy has developed a new strain of marijuana for the occasion, calling it the "Pandemic Special." As the special is being sold, reports come on the news that scientists are tracking down the origins of COVID-19. When they say that they have tracked the disease back to a certain pangolin in Wuhan, this makes Randy have a flashback to when he had sex with a pangolin at Mickey Mouse's urging in Wuhan months prior.

After a frantic call to Mickey, Randy admits that he came back from China sick but thought that he just had the flu. Knowing that he caused the COVID-19 outbreak in South Park, Randy tries to use his own DNA as a form of vaccine by carefully spreading the same DNA-carrying fluid that he deposited in the pangolin into each dose of the Pandemic Special.

Infecting everyone with COVID-19 due to his drug-addled sexual escapades in China is undoubtedly a new low for Randy. And while it's known that Randy is a scientist, it seems pretty clear that the town's most belligerent geologist should not be the one to formulate, test, and distribute his own vaccine to an unwitting public.

As the kids are introduced to the world of illegal Magic: The Gathering matches being played by roosters in the basements of restaurants, Randy misinterprets what the boys mean when they refer to the activity using the phrase "Cock Magic." Having been very involved in a very different scene of the same name while in college, Randy believes that his youth pastime is making a comeback.

This inspires Randy to brush up on his old magic routine, complete with a live musician and the help of his little assistant. Much to the chagrin of his wife, Randy doubles down on his choice and decides to perform at a six-year-old's birthday party. As part of his routine, he does tricks with a white cloth, a small box, and a saw, all with his pants unzipped. After feigning a catastrophic slip of the saw, Randy has a little traumatized girl in the audience reach behind her ear to pull out what had supposedly been sawed off in a bloody mess — a sure sign that the Amazingly Randy should hang up his top hat for good (and not on his pelvis).

It all starts when Randy steals a superconducting magnet from the Large Hadron Collider to put into Stan's Pinewood Derby car, which reaches warp speed and gets the attention of aliens. The alien that arrives is on the lam and kidnaps Randy and Stan to build a spacefaring vehicle on par with their Pinewood Derby Car. Stan kills the alien, and Randy decides to work with the US government to take the alien's stolen space cash for themselves. But when space police come to question Randy about the whereabouts of the stolen money, he keeps quiet.

With the interplanetary fortune of Earth at stake, Randy pressures the governments of the world to keep quiet around the space cops. However, when word gets out that Finland is getting a guilty conscience, Randy has a quick talk in private with the rest of the world's leaders. According to the CIA World Factbook, the end result of Randy's urging is the fiery death of over 5.5 million people in a nuclear explosion.