"
Trapped in the Closet", the twelfth episode of the
ninth season of the
Comedy Central series
South Park, originally aired on
November 16,
2005. The plot of the episode centers on the
South Park character
Stan Marsh, as he joins
Scientology in an attempt to find something "fun and free". After the discovery of his surprisingly high "
thetan levels", he is recognized as the reincarnation of the founder of the church,
L. Ron Hubbard.
Tom Cruise, who is featured in the episode, reportedly threatened "to back out of his
Mission: Impossible III promotional duties if Viacom didn’t pull a repeat of the episode." Though the episode was originally scheduled for rebroadcast in March 2006, the episode "
Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" was shown instead. Comedy Central representatives stated this change was made as a tribute to Isaac Hayes, however
South Park creators
Trey Parker and
Matt Stone thought otherwise. Stone and Parker issued a satirical statement saying they were "servants of the dark lord
Xenu".
Isaac Hayes, the voice of
Chef, quit the show shortly before the start of the tenth season. The reason for his departure, as reported by
Matt Stone, was due to his faith in Scientology and this episode, which he claimed to feel was very offensive. "Trapped in the Closet" was nominated for an
Primetime Emmy Award in the
Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) category in July 2006. The episode was featured among
Comedy Central's list of "10 South Parks That Changed The World", spoofed by
Conan O'Brien in the opening segment of the
58th Primetime Emmy Awards, and mentioned in the Scientology critique film,
The Bridge.
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