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South Park: Isaac Hayes III on Father Departing Series, Chef's Legacy

Isaac Hayes III looked to address the controversy surrounding Isaac Hayes leaving South Park and how much Chef meant to his father.

If you're a fan of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's South Park, then you know the vital role that music legend Isaac Hayes' Chef played in Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman's formative years. A source of some fine wisdom and even finer music (like "Chocolate Salty Balls"). Unfortunately, there's also the controversy surrounding Isaac's departure from the animated series. A few months after the Season 9 episode "Trapped in the Closet" hit screens, Hayes would quit the series over the episode's targeting of Scientology. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends, and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," Hayes, a Scientologist since the '90s, included as part of his statement at the time.

Parker and Stone would offer an on-screen response in 2006's S10E01: "The Return of Chef," which utilized clips from previous episodes to give Chef a brutal send-off (which you can check out in the video above) – though leaving the door open for a possible return as "Darth Chef." Unfortunately, Hayes would pass away from a stroke two years later, but the story of Hayes' departure would resurface in 2016 during The Hollywood Reporter's look at the 20th anniversary of South Park.

"Isaac Hayes did not quit 'South Park;' someone quit 'South Park' for him," shared Isaac Hayes III, Hayes' son, during the look back at the animated series' success. "What happened was that in January 2006, my dad had a stroke and lost the ability to speak. He really didn't have that much comprehension, and he had to relearn to play the piano and a lot of different things. He was in no position to resign under his own knowledge. At the time, everybody around my father was involved in Scientology — his assistants, the core group of people. So, someone quit 'South Park' on Isaac Hayes' behalf. We don't know who." With the animated series' 27th season on the horizon, Hayes III addressed the controversy as well as his father's impact on the series and how much South Park meant to him.

"For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father [Isaac Hayes] left South Park. I'm here to set the record straight. My dad did not quit South Park. Scientology did," Hayes III wrote in his post, which included a link to the Cracked interview. "After the episode 'Trapped in the Closet' aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few months later that left him unable to speak or make decisions on his own. He was not in any condition to resign from anything. The truth is, someone else within his Scientology circle made that decision and quit the show for him. He loved being the voice of Chef. He loved the character. He loved connecting with fans. He would joke with people who recognized his voice and he truly enjoyed being part of the show."

Hayes III continued, "The narrative that he quit because he was offended by the satire is not true. That was a cover story created by others. My father never got to speak for himself because his health robbed him of that chance. So now I am speaking for him. He did not leave 'South Park' willingly. He was forced out by illness and by people who did not have his best interest at heart. This is for anyone who loved Chef. This is for anyone who admired my father's work. This is the truth about what really happened."

During the interview, Hayes III lays out his timeline of what went down between his father and the long-running animated series. He also discusses what South Park meant to his father and how Hayes felt about making an impact on pop culture for more than just his music. In terms of the claims that his father found jokes and storylines offensive, Hayes III says that doesn't match with his father's comedic sensibilities.

"It absolutely matched him. My father had an amazing sense of humor; he was a very cool guy. He was serious, but didn't take himself too seriously. He was never personally bothered by the material at all. Again, it gave him a new legion of fans, and it helped connect those people with his music," Hayes III explained. "Just in watching the shows, I don't ever think there was anything out of bounds. They definitely pushed barriers, don't get me twisted, but he understood that you're not supposed to take it so seriously. It's serious commentary not to be taken seriously, which is interesting."

As for the possibility of Hayes III voicing a character who could be Chef's son, Hayes III says he would consider it, while also offering how his father's character could make a return. "I'm always open to that for sure. I mean, I'm a voice actor, and my father and I have similar voices. Anything's possible. I'm open to the idea, but I would think even more along the lines of, with technology, with A.I., that Chef himself could come back," he added.

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