In a bold and unforgettable moment on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert took center stage on July 24, 2025, to celebrate South Park’s explosive Season 27 premiere, which featured a daring AI-generated public service announcement (PSA) mocking President Donald Trump. The satirical clip, showcasing a deepfake Trump stripping nude in a desert, was dubbed an “important message of hope” by Colbert, sparking laughter, applause, and a whirlwind of reactions across social media. As The Late Show faces its own cancellation in May 2026, Colbert’s embrace of South Park’s audacity underscores his fearless commentary and the power of satire in turbulent times.
The South Park episode, titled “Sermon on the ‘Mount,” aired on July 23, 2025, and didn’t hold back. The PSA, framed as a “pro-Trump” message mandated by a fictional $3.5 million settlement, featured an AI-crafted Trump wandering the desert, shedding his clothes to reveal a comically exaggerated physique, complete with a voiceover proclaiming, “Trump: His penis is teeny tiny, but his love for us is large.” Colbert played the clip—carefully edited to omit the most explicit parts—during his monologue, tying it to Trump’s recent executive order deregulating AI in the private sector. “I completely agree with him on this one,” Colbert quipped, “because if the government interfered with private AI, innovators at South Park wouldn’t be able to make important videos like this one.”
The audience roared, and Colbert’s endorsement amplified the episode’s impact. He displayed a QR code linking to HeTrumpedUs.com, a Comedy Central site hosting the full, uncensored PSA, urging viewers to “check it out right here.” The clip, a nod to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s shelved Deep Fake: The Movie project, drew praise for its biting humor and critique of Trump’s litigious nature. The episode also took aim at Paramount, the parent company of both South Park and CBS, referencing a $16 million settlement with Trump over a 60 Minutes interview. This context added a layer of irony, as Colbert’s show was canceled by CBS, a decision some link to the same settlement.
Social media erupted, with X users calling the moment “peak Colbert” and “savage satire.” “Stephen just turned South Park’s jab into a rallying cry!” one fan posted. Others debated the PSA’s taste, with some labeling it “genius” and others “crude.” The White House, via assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers, dismissed South Park as “fourth-rate” and irrelevant, a claim Parker countered with a mock apology at Comic-Con: “We’re terribly sorry.” The episode’s broader jabs—at Trump’s lawsuits, AI deregulation, and Paramount’s corporate moves—cemented its cultural impact.
Colbert’s praise, delivered amid his own show’s looming end, felt like a defiant stand. His history of skewering Trump, including a blunt “Go f— yourself” response to the president’s gloating over The Late Show’s cancellation, made this moment particularly poignant. As South Park inked a $1.5 billion deal for 50 new episodes, Colbert’s spotlight on their work highlighted the resilience of satire against political and corporate pressures.
