They had just given them a “Freedom” award.
Parker and Stone were being honored by People for the American Way (PFAW), the left-wing advocacy group formed by “All in the Family” creator Norman Lear. PFAW has spent most of its existence fighting against conservative values, rising to prominence in the 1980s to combat Ronald Reagan’s agenda and the Christian political movement championed by Pat Robertson and others.
The South Park creators raised eyebrows when they asked conservative columnist Larry Elder to introduce them at the ceremony. Those in attendance thought it as a joke, but the duo then shocked everyone when they announced they were Republicans. The statement was met with nervous laughter from the crowd, as if it was forbidden to even JOKE about being a Republican in Hollywood. The pair then doubled down and insisted they were serious about their proclamation, which was met with disbelief by the crowd.
In all fairness, Parker and Stone have used “South Park” to skewer everyone in the political and cultural spectrum, from Trump to Hillary, and even featured Mohammed, Satan, and Jesus in their show. They are equal opportunity offenders, so Republicans shouldn’t get too excited.
www.dangerous.com/42908/trey-parker-matt-stone-come-republicans-room-full-hollywood-elites/
Larry Elder tweeted about the incident at the event
Trey Parker & Matt Stone of SouthPark asked me to introduce them when they received a “freedom” award from Norman Lear’s organization. After they graciously accepted, they said, “We’re republicans.” Nervous laughter. They repeated, “No, seriously, we’re republicans.
Trey Parker & Matt Stone of @SouthPark asked me to introduce them when they received a "freedom" award from Norman Lear's organization. After they graciously accepted, they said, "We're republicans." Nervous laughter. They repeated, "No, seriously, we're republicans."#Priceless pic.twitter.com/v6ICEXR6Eh
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 24, 2018
Pawl Bazile of Dangerous has more on the announcement by the South Park creators.
www.dangerous.com/42908/trey-parker-matt-stone-come-republicans-room-full-hollywood-elites/
The South Park creative powerhouses were receiving a “Freedom” award from People for the American Way and needed to reaffirm in front of the audience of high profile entertainment insiders, “No seriously, we’re republicans,” after the audience became uncomfortably chuckled at the concept of right wingers among them. Larry Elder tweeted about the crowd’s reaction saying:
“Trey Parker & Matt Stone of @SouthPark asked me to introduce them when they received a ‘freedom’ award from Norman Lear’s organization. After they graciously accepted, they said, ‘We’re republicans.’ Nervous laughter. They repeated, ‘No, seriously, we’re republicans.’”
AC