The White House sharply rebuked Comedy Central’s long-running animated series “South Park” after the programme’s 27th-season premiere on 23 July portrayed President Donald Trump nude, crawling through a desert and begging Satan for sex in an AI-generated sequence. The episode, titled “Sermon on the Mount,” also spoofed Trump’s penchant for litigation and alleged media intimidation. In a statement distributed on Thursday, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers dismissed the show as a “fourth-rate” production that “hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years,” describing the instalment as a “desperate attempt for attention.” Rogers added that Trump had fulfilled more promises in six months than any prior U.S. president and said no television programme would derail what she called the president’s “hot streak.” Speaking hours later at San Diego Comic-Con, co-creator Trey Parker offered a deadpan “We’re terribly sorry,” and recounted internal debates about whether to censor the on-screen depiction of the president’s genitalia. Co-creator Matt Stone said the team ultimately added eyes to the animated organ to satisfy network Standards & Practices without blurring it. The clash coincides with Paramount Global’s agreement to pay roughly $1.5 billion for 50 additional episodes and exclusive global streaming rights to “South Park” over the next five years. Paramount reached the deal one month after paying Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over an allegedly edited “60 Minutes” interview, a sequence referenced in the new episode. Paramount’s moves come as U.S. regulators have approved the media group’s planned $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, while the network’s CBS unit last week cancelled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” another programme frequently critical of the president. The “South Park” controversy therefore adds to the growing list of confrontations between the Trump administration and entertainment outlets.