IGF CultureWatch

This has been all over the blogosphere for weeks, but for those who just refuse to read any blog but CultureWatch, you can view the now-infamous South Park "Trapped in the Closet" episode, pulled from the re-run schedule by Comedy Central, here.

The AP reported:

The episode in question, "Trapped in the Closet," shows Scientology leaders hailing Stan, a child on the show, as a saviour. A cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won't come out. John Travolta, another Scientologist, enters the closet to try and bring him out.

The repeated tag line: "Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."

Hecklerspray sums up what those "in the know" have been alleging:

Comedy Central pulled the plug on a repeat of "Trapped In The Closet," leading to whispers that Tom Cruise himself ordered the removal of the episode, or he'd cancel all promotion for Mission: Impossible III. Paramount, the Mission: Impossible III studio, and Comedy Central are both owned by Viacom.

Issac Hayes, who voiced "chef," also resigned, calling the episode offensive (Hayes is himself a Scientologist and purportedly got pressure from the "Church" to disassociate himself from the show.)

The larger picture (via LA Times columnist Bridgette Johnson):

The Chef-Cruise-Scientology kerfuffle comes off the heels of worldwide protests of Muhammad cartoons and the assertion by demonstrators that freedom of speech does not mean being allowed to offend, or even that freedom of speech should not be completely extended in society because it can offend.

It's the meeting point between leftwing political correctness and rightwing fundamentalism (Muslim, Christian and Scientology versions), with more than a dollop of Hollywood hypocrisy and homophobia thrown in to boot.

Update: Tim Hulsey points us to this Fox News report that says:

Hayes, like Katie Holmes, is constantly monitored by a Scientologist representative.... [Friends say] Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park. They are mystified.....That certainly begs the question of who issued the statement that Hayes was quitting South Park.

Who, indeed.