'South Park' defends 'bloody' cut

January 10, 2006 - 11:20am

COMEDY Central says religious groups are prematurely claiming victory in a battle over a recent episode of "South Park."

In the controversial episode of the racy animated show - titled "Bloody Mary" - a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeds from her nether regions.

The graphic tone of the show, which first aired in early December, offended The Catholic League and other conservative religious groups, who now claim to have pressured Comedy Central into pulling the "vile" episode from rotation on the network.

Not so, Comedy Central executives wrote in a letter issued late last week to irate viewers who had e-mailed the network voicing their displeasure for "caving in" to outside groups.

"Despite misleading claims from those who would like to claim victory, we have not permanently shelved the 'Bloody Mary' episode from future airings due to outside pressure, nor will we exclude it from future DVD releases," the letter stated.

"We appreciate your concerns about the potential influences of outside special interest groups on the media and entertainment industries, and particularly Comedy Central."

Some viewers were especially upset that the episode did not appear in a year-end "South Park" marathon.

The Comedy Central letter stated that the network had kept the episode out of the marathon "in deference to the holidays." But it did in fact "air in every one of 'South Park's' normally scheduled repeat timeslots.

"As satirists, we believe that it is our First Amendment right to poke fun at any and all people, groups, organizations and religions and we will continue to defend that right," the letter stated. "Our goal is to make people laugh, and perhaps if we're lucky, even make them think in the process."

COMEDY Central says religious groups are prematurely claiming victory in a battle over a recent episode of "South Park."

In the controversial episode of the racy animated show - titled "Bloody Mary" - a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeds from her nether regions.

Not so, Comedy Central executives wrote in a letter issued late last week to irate viewers who had e-mailed the network voicing their displeasure for "caving in" to outside groups.

"We appreciate your concerns about the potential influences of outside special interest groups on the media and entertainment industries, and particularly Comedy Central."

Some viewers were especially upset that the episode did not appear in a year-end "South Park" marathon.