As Billy Connolly once said, "You know they're nuts when they start designing their own uniform."

HOLLYWOOD bully Tom Cruise got Comedy Central to cancel Wednesday night's cablecast of a controversial "South Park" episode about Scientology by warning that he'd refuse to promote "Mission Impossible 3," insiders say.
Since Paramount is banking on "MI3" to rake in blockbuster profits this summer, and Paramount is owned by Viacom, which also owns Comedy Central, the tactic worked.

The "South Park" episode, "Trapped in the Closet," pokes fun at Scientology and shows Cruise, John Travolta and R. Kelly (who is not a Scientologist, but has a song called "Trapped in the Closet") literally in a closet.

The episode, which first aired last November, was set to rerun Wednesday night, but was mysteriously pulled at the last minute.

Now, hollywoodinterrupted.com reports Cruise went straight to the top - to execs at Viacom - and warned he'd boycott the promotion for "MI3" unless the "South Park" episode was pulled.

Series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been told not to discuss the matter - to avoid embarrassing Cruise as they did Isaac Hayes last week when Hayes, also a Scientologist, quit his role as the voice of the Chef character.

Hayes claimed he couldn't stand by while "South Park" made fun of religion, but Stone pointed out that Hayes had cashed plenty of checks while the show made fun of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Stone hinted that Hayes was pressed to quit by his minders in the Church of Scientology.



A rep for Comedy Central, asked if Cruise was responsible for the "Closet" episode being yanked, attributed it instead to Hayes' resignation, saying, "In light of the events of earlier this week, we wanted to give Chef an appropriate tribute by airing two episodes he is most known for." But TV insiders weren't buying that explanation.

Now the question is whether Comedy Central will ever again air "Trapped in the Closet" and whether it will be included on the DVD of the show's ninth season.

Cruise has a history of playing hardball. He is allegedly responsible for the missing sex scene his fiancée Katie Homes filmed (before she started dating Tom) in "Thank You for Smoking," which opens today.

And who will ever forget the way Cruise shouted down Matt Lauer on the "Today" show when Lauer argued that some people have been helped by prescription drugs?

I think it's time for another Scientology jihad.

I don't see why people give scientology such a hard time. Is it THAT unbelievable? Better rephrase the question, Is it any MORE unbelievable than any other organized religion? Seriously, I don't see any real difference between scientology and christianity. I think they are equally full of shit.

Are you freaking kidding me? I'm not a religious person, but there is historical evidence that the great figures of Christianity did in fact exist. Scientology assumes that in a far off planet some powerful alien forced an entire race of aliens to leave their home planet. They headed for earth and crashed their ship into a Pacific Volcano. Their souls are supposedly responsible for human suffering.
I don't know enough about Hinduism to really trash it, but I can find no fault with Buddhism or Islam that is anymore odd than Christianity. The only church that comes as close to being as kooky as Scientology is the Mormons and possibly Christian Scientists.

Not to mention the fact that their "exalted leader" wrote the whole fucking backstory as a sci-fi short story first, and then later decided it was real. Seriously, this shit is right above worshipping your dishwasher, except that it's predatory and evangelical, which makes it worthy of my bile.

wow, you must be quite an idiot

All I know is that Tom Cruise is gonna get fucked by a goat in the next episode.

I would luuuuv to see them declare war.

Wish answered...

from NY POST

March 18, 2006 -- VIACOM may have folded under the pressure of Hollywood bully Tom Cruise and pulled a rerun of the "Trapped in the Closet" episode of "South Park" from the air Wednesday night over a Scientology joke - but series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone will not be silenced. In a statement sent via their lawyer Kevin Morris, the duo, who were told by Viacom to keep quiet, mocked the sci-fi faith thusly: "So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!" They signed the statement, "Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu." But while the infamous episode, which pokes fun at Cruise and fellow Scientologist John Travolta, has been yanked off the air, it can be viewed in its entirety at www.socialiteslife.com.

way to point the world to a dodgy links site, NY Post.

Scientology makes the baby jesus cry. I'm amazed at how fresh and unbelievable it has stayed for me. I still can't get over how people go "sure, yeah, that sounds about right. Tiny aliens. Emperor Xenu. Yep."

Tomorrow night should be good....Season premier will be al about Chef... Stone and Parker created a new episode in the last week... may be a real chef basher?!?!

from the AP.
The network statement announcing Chef's return for the "South Park" season premiere this Wednesday was a clear sign that Parker and Stone planned to use the Hayes imbroglio as further grist for their comedy.

"Knowing these guys as I do, I can't imagine that they're not going to do just that," Comedy Central spokesman Tony Fox told Reuters. He added that the producers routinely "turn around" new episodes in just six days, leaving them ample time to incorporate last week's dust-up into their season debut.

Fox said he assumed someone besides Hayes would supply Chef's voice. Details of the new episode were vague.

But a network synopsis said the fictional town of South Park, Colorado, is "jolted out of a case of the doldrums when Chef suddenly reappears," leading to new antics by the group of foul-mouthed fourth graders who are the show's stars.

"While Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are thrilled to have their old friend back, they notice that something about Chef seems different. When Chef's strange behavior starts getting him in trouble, the boys pull out all the stops to save him," the network said.

"South Park," launched in 1997, remains the highest-rated series on Comedy Central, which like Paramount, is owned by Viacom Inc.

They should have Jimbo provide the Chef voice.

Tom Cruise lost his fight to have the scientology episode shown in the UK

http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-05-18/celeb/4

I just saw this one for the first time on the Comedy Network up here last week too.