During the latest episode of South Park “Let Them Eat Goo,” a character in the show, Eric Cartman, threw shade at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James' comments about the tweet supporting the Hong Kong protestors by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
James called Morey ‘uneducated' on the subject and stated that Morey's tweet had negative ramifications for others, including himself. He failed to mention the human rights violations in China or the pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong that Morey's tweet was originally about. Many criticized James for ‘missing an opportunity' with his comments.
“We all talk about freedom of speech,” James said, via The Undefeated, “Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you are not thinking about others and only thinking about yourself.”
During the episode, Cartman becomes angry with the decision by South Park Elementary School to change the lunch menu after students complained about wanting more sustainable and healthy options. The response that Cartman made to the rest of the cafeteria sounded very similar to the remark that James made about the NBA's ongoing China controversy.
“Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you are not thinking about others and only thinking about yourself!” Cartman yells, via Ryan Parker of The Hollywood Reporter.
It seemed that the writers of South Park also took a jab at James' failed attempt to trademark the phrase “Taco Tuesday.” They did so by having Cartman sing the expression while dancing while similar to how James does in his social media videos.
The creators of South Park have been no stranger to their own controversy with China. Their 300th episode got them banned and erased from the internet in the country because they criticized Chinese censorship and how it impacts the decisions of American corporations in hopes of maximizing their profits in China.