South Park has once again found itself in the middle of a political storm after Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem accused the show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, of sexism for mocking her appearance — and the series appears to have responded in its own trademark fashion.
The controversy erupted following the airing of the latest episode of South Park’s 27th season, which featured several satirical portrayals of senior Trump administration figures. In the episode, Mr. Mackey — the long-running school counsellor — loses his job and ends up working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). With the backing of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, Mackey is flown to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he meets both the president and Vice President JD Vance.
Noem’s animated counterpart is depicted with her Botox wearing off, giving her a slightly dishevelled look, and is also shown shooting and killing dogs for an ICE training video. The characterisation prompted a furious reaction from Noem, who dismissed the show’s jabs as “petty” and “lazy” during an appearance on Glenn Beck’s podcast.
“I didn’t get to see it — I was going over budget numbers and stuff — but it never ends,” Noem said. “It’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. Only the liberals and the extremists do that. If they wanted to criticise my job, go ahead and do that, but clearly they can’t, so they just pick something petty like that.”
In what many online have taken as a direct reply, the official South Park Facebook page updated its profile picture to the exact cartoon image of Noem from the episode — Botox mishap and all. The move, first spotted by Discussing Film on X (formerly Twitter), was widely interpreted as the show’s way of doubling down rather than backing off.
This spat is just the latest flashpoint in a season that has seen South Park take repeated swipes at both Trump and his allies. In recent episodes, Trump has been portrayed in increasingly absurd scenarios — including lounging in bed with Satan — and mocked over a comically small penis, a recurring gag that dates back to the season premiere. That episode, titled Sermon on the Mount, sparked a massive 258% jump in the show’s streaming popularity, according to data from JustWatch, and drew sharp condemnation from the White House.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers has repeatedly slammed the show, accusing its creators of having “no authentic or original content” and branding South Park a “fourth-rate show” clinging to relevance. Rogers also claimed that “President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
The criticism hasn’t slowed Parker and Stone, who have been unapologetic about the season’s content since signing a $1.5 billion deal to bring new episodes to Paramount+. The season’s debut drew 5.9 million viewers across Paramount+ and Comedy Central, with viewership climbing 68% compared to the previous season.
South Park’s satirical fire has never been limited to one side of the political spectrum, but this latest clash underscores how polarising its brand of humour remains. For fans, the Facebook profile picture stunt is just another example of the show refusing to bow to criticism. For detractors — and for Noem — it’s evidence that Parker and Stone are more interested in ridicule than reasoned critique.
With eight episodes still to come in the season, it seems likely that neither side has had its last word — and if history is any guide, South Park won’t be toning down the heat anytime soon.