South Park has mocked hundreds of celebrities over its 20 seasons on air, from Kanye West’s “fish d*cks” freakout to Tom Cruise refusing to leave the closest. And let’s not forget Rob Schneider Is a Carrot, Russell Crowe: Fightin’ Round the World, and of course, Mecha-Streisand. Point is, no famous person is safe from South Park‘s derision, but occasionally creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone let a public figure voice him- or herself on the show. (This is different than George Clooney as Sparky, or Jennifer Aniston as Mrs. Stevens.)
Wednesday’s episode, “Members Only,” mostly concerned the Member Berries crashing the White House, Mr. Garrison realizing being elected president isn’t as easy as it sounds (gee, I wonder where Parker and Stone got that idea from), and Gerald framing Ike, voiced by Parker’s daughter, as Skankhunt42. But there was a fourth subplot in which Cartman, Wendy, and Butters are given a tour around the SpaceX building by Elon Musk. I assumed it was Parker doing a really good Musk impression, as was the case in season 18’s Wacky Races-inspired “Handicar,” but nope: that was the Mars-lover himself.
Guest stars-as-themselves is a rare occurrence on South Park — in fact, not including the musical performance-heavy “Chef Aid,” it’s only happened a handful of times over 275 episodes: Robert Smith in season one’s “Mecha-Streisand,” Jay Leno in season two’s “City on the Edge of Forever,” Korn in season three’s “Korn’s Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery,” Radiohead in season five’s “Scott Tenorman Must Die,” Brad Paisley in season 16’s “Cartman Finds Love,” PewDiePie throughout season 18, and now, Musk. (If you want to count Malcolm McDowell, who’s credited as “A British Person,” go ahead.)
That’s about it. South Park takes the “ALL CHARACTERS AND EVENTS IN THIS SHOW — EVEN THOSE BASED ON REAL PEOPLE — ARE ENTIRELY FICTIONAL. ALL CELEBRITY VOICES ARE IMPERSONATED…..POORLY” disclaimer seriously.
