Bruce Vilanch Says He Was ‘Thrilled and Flattered’ to Be Roasted on ‘South Park’
Bruce Vilanch may boast a pair of Emmys, an iconic tenure on Hollywood Squares and a closet filled with some of the horniest T-shirts ever printed, but his most impressive superlative is one that’s eluded the likes of Tom Cruise, Sarah Jessica Parker and the entire nation of Costa Rica: Taking a South Park joke in stride.
Last Wednesday, the well-humored writer took a break from this year’s awards season, dropping by the Oscars subreddit for an AMA. “Ask me about the Oscars, Hollywood’s best (and worst) moments, or my long, strange career,” he wrote. “Start dropping questions now, and I’ll answer them tomorrow!”
As film buffs flocked to the comments with inquiries about their favorite award shows, Timothée Chalamet’s portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and Vilanch’s favorite Oscars joke — a Pocahontas-themed fart gag he wrote for Whoopi Goldberg — Redditor strokesfan91 dared to ask the toughest question, broaching the writer’s status as a beloved South Park punchline.
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“What did you think of Cartman being mixed up for you on South Park?” they asked, referencing the Vilanch mention in Season 16’s “A Nightmare on FaceTime.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsfaC6WLRNk
“I was thrilled and flattered,” the comedian recalled of the 2012 episode, in which a well-meaning couple mistakes Cartman’s Incredible Hulk getup for a Halloween costume of him. “I am also identified as a possible candidate for ‘The Coon,’ in a few other episodes. I didn’t have to sleep with anybody to get the shoutout.”
The AMA is far from the first time Vilanch has expressed his appreciation for South Park. Alongside allegedly sending Trey Parker and Matt Stone a thank you card after his brief cameo in 2009’s “The Coon,” the comedian has often spoken highly of his lampooned place in the long-running animated series.
“I’m stunned and amazed,” he said of his repeated South Park appearances during a 2023 appearance on The Loud Spot podcast. “My inbox was deluged with people saying, ‘Oh my god, South Park did you last night!’”
Your move, Barbra Streisand.