Featured Image Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock/Comedy Central
Topics: South Park
Ben Thompson
South Park is known for its ruthless parodies of celebrities, and it seems that Paris Hilton wasn't pleased with her portrayal.
The socialite has opened up about the impact that the 2004 episode had on her mental health, claiming it made her 'sick'.
In 'Stupid Spoiled Wh**e Video Playset', the girls in South Park are newly obsessed with the reality TV star and seek to emulate her by becoming, as the show put it, 'stupid spoiled wh**es'.
Needless to say, Hilton's portrayal in the episode is not flattering - as she is portrayed as being self absorbed, obnoxious and sexually promiscuous.
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Her character is also drawn with wonky eyes and is frequently showing coughing up ejaculate.
At one point, Hilton's pet chihuahua even commits suicide after growing tired of being her pet.
The Simple Life star opened up about her reaction to the parody in her new book, Paris: The Memoir.
She wrote: "The poster featured my face and the tagline: ‘Watch Paris die!' I didn’t mind that marketing approach, and I wasn’t naïve about why they chose it.
"I’m the title character, but they also apply that epithet to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Tara Reid, and all the little girls who were fans, which upset me more than anything ugly they could say about me.
"It also upsets me that the episode graphically portrays Tinkerbell [Hilton's pet dog] being shot and killed.
"The thought of that made me sick. I’ve been involved in some pretty edgy media, but I don’t even know where something like that comes from."
Hilton's decision not to speak out at the time also led her apparently receiving some harsh words from one half of South Park's creative team.
She wrote: "When a journalist told Matt [Stone] about my muted red-carpet response, he said, ‘That shows how f***ed up she is.'
"My not wanting to watch his cartoon about my dog being shot and me coughing up ejaculate — that’s evidence of how f***ed up I am."
And Hilton isn't the first celebrity to talk about their portrayal on South Park.
Singer Barbra Streisand was repeatedly made fun of throughout the show's first season, where she was also portrayed turning into a giant 'Mecha Streisand'.
She was apparently targeted because of the creator's 'strong distaste' for her.
At the time, Streisand said: "I wonder if shows like South Park and Beavis and Butthead don't add to the cynicism and negativity in our culture, especially in children.
"These youngsters are formulating their attitudes and maybe they come away feeling that any woman who dares to accomplish something is the incarnation of self-centeredness and greed.
"And that would be very unfortunate, especially for young girls."
The creators then responded to her interview with the episode 'Spookyfish', which included pictures of her face.