The most recent episode of South Park – season 26 episode two entitled “Worldwide Privacy Tour” – poked fun at the royal couple Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan Markle, according to Screenrant. A representative of the celebrity couple reportedly addressed the rumors that Harry and Meghan would be suing creators of the slanderous parody, Trey Parker (Planet of the Apes: Rule the Planet, Despicable Me 3, Team America) and Matt Stone (Monty Python Conquers America, The Aristocrats, Bowling for Columbine).
The satire-based animated series teases that the duo often request to be left alone but always seem to be in front of cameras and news reporters, publicizing the continued ironic statement, “We Want Privacy”. Ever since the episode aired on February 15, 2023, rumors of Harry and Meghan suing South Park have been flooding the internet. In a report published shortly after the initial release of the episode, Markle allegedly stated she was “upset and overwhelmed” by her crudely represented animation, while a royal official suggested they could sue South Park for the heinous depiction if they wished to do so.
A representative of the private couple released a statement to E! News involving the rumors about suing the creative team behind the episode. The representative assured the public that Harry and Meghan will not be taking legal action and stated that Rumors which say otherwise are”frankly nonsense… totally baseless, boring reports.“
This isn’t the first time Harry and Meghan have been scraped through the metaphorical mud of the mainstream media. Another mature animation series premiered in July of 2021 and was entitled The Prince. Although the show didn’t mention Harry and Meghan by name, it was without a doubt poking fun at their publicity and status through oversaturated satire. Voicing the spoofed version of Prince Harry was Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Carnival Row) alongside Condola Rashsad (Sex in the City 2, Steel Magnolias, Law & Order: Criminal Intent) portraying their version of Markle. The creators were blatantly obvious with their intentions to mock the royal family throughout the series, but received no political or verbal recourse from the actual Prince.
Given South Park‘s seemingly endless reputation of mocking/spoofing political figures, world leaders, and celebrities; most notably Barbara Streisand (A Star is Born, Yenta, Meet the Fockers) and Donald Tump (Home Alone 2, Zoolander, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), it was only a matter of time before the royal family got their share in the South Park spotlight. Given the shows past of offending highly influential people its very unlikely that a lawsuit would effect the show.
The aforementioned episode and the season premiere of Season 26 “Cupid Ye” are streamable on the South Park Website. Seasons one through 25 is streamable on HBO Max and the South Park Covid Specials & Streaming Wars are available on Paramount+.