‘South Park’ Vows to Not Make Fun of People’s Weight ‘Ever Again’ in Ozempic Episode

Leave it to “South Park” to keep surprising people. After spending the last 27 years calling Eric Cartman a “fatass,” the Comedy Central show says it’s no longer going to make fat jokes.

Fittingly, this particular declaration came from the franchise’s latest Paramount+ special, “South Park: The End of Obesity,” which premiered on Friday. The episode starts with a doctor telling Cartman about weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and other semaglutides.

But once he learns that Cartman and his mom can’t afford the medication, he sends Cartman away with a cheaper medication by the name of Lizzo. It’s basically the rapper’s album, which comes with the side effect of users excreting from their ears.

“Rich people get Ozympeic. Poor people get body positivity,” Cartman says in one of the episode’s more succinct moments.

Somehow Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Butters get roped into Cartman’s quest for weight loss medication, and — as per usual — it spirals out of control. This involves countless trips to various doctors, a song by Butters and an increasingly furious Kyle. The special’s insanity peaks when the boys and Stan’s dad, Randy, drive a semi-truck full of semaglutides while fighting off a gang midriff-baring mothers addicted to the drug and a host of cereal mascots trying to wipe the substance from the market. Even when they succeed in bringing the truck to Kyle’s house, they fail. Instead of being filled with semaglutides, the only thing inside the vehicle is a sad and useless insurance agent.

The entire frustrating adventure leads to Kyle giving a speech in the school cafeteria.

“I was wrong. I used to think that fat people just needed more willpower. But now I’ve seen what it’s like to have willpower not be enough. We’ve got sugar companies, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies all just trying to figure out how to make money off of our f–king health. How can anybody have willpower when all these forces are manipulating us everyday? It’s impossible,” Kyle says. “And I’ve learned one very important thing. It isn’t fair to put the blame on anyone for their weight.”

He then asks his fellow students to pledge not to make fun of obesity again, a suggestion that’s met with agreement. “We’re not going to be critical of anyone over their weight ever again,” Kyle tells Cartman.

It’s a nice moment that’s immediately ruined by the other boy. In true “South Park” fashion, Cartman never wanted to lose weight to better his health. He wanted to lose weight so that he could insult people without them using their go-to retort, “fatass.”

The episode ends with Cartman doing just that, unleashing a barrage of heinous insults on both Kyle and Wendy. In the special’s final moments, he travels to Pakistan to spew his hatred.

Only time will tell if “South Park” actually sticks to this decree, but based on the recent history of the show, it seems promising. From the animated comedy’s first season, Kyle and Stan’s speeches have served as a transparent plea from Matt Stone and Trey Parker about how they feel about a particular subject.

The series has also has a history of both reimagining itself and sticking to its guns. A good example of the former is the character of Tolkien, who was the only Black student in South Park Elementary for years. The character was canonically named Token Black until 2022 when “South Park” retconned his name as Tolkien Black and gaslit its audience, claiming that had always been his name. The comedy of the show has also shifted thanks to characters like PC Principal.

The show has also proven that when it makes a big plot decision, it likes to stick with it. Case and point? Tweek and Craig are still dating despite neither identifying as gay, and Randy still runs a marijuana farm.

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