Isaac Hayes’ son has said the musician was made to leave his South Park role by Scientology leaders.
The musician, who died in 2008 aged 65, voiced the character Chef in the animated comedy from 1997 until 2006.
He left the show after an episode called ‘Trapped In The Closet’, which took aim at Scientology. Hayes, a Scientologist himself, reportedly tried to have the episode spiked but failed to do so. In a statement after quitting the show at the time, he said: “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends, and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins.
“As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.”
Now his son, Isaac Hayes III, has posted a statement on X detailing the “truth” about the situation – claiming that it was allegedly one of the Scientology leaders who made the decision.
He began, “For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father left ‘South Park.’ I’m here to set the record straight. My dad did not quit ‘South Park.’ Scientology did.”
The post continued, “After the episode ‘Trapped in the Closet’ aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few months later that left him unable to speak or make decisions on his own. He was not in any condition to resign from anything. The truth is, someone else within his Scientology circle made that decision and quit the show for him.
“The narrative that he quit because he was offended by the satire is not true. That was a cover story created by others. My father never got to speak for himself because his health robbed him of that chance. So now I am speaking for him,” his son wrote defiantly.
He concluded, “He did not leave ‘South Park’ willingly. He was forced out by illness and by people who did not have his best interest at heart. This is for anyone who loved Chef. This is for anyone who admired my father’s work. This is the truth about what really happened.”
For over 14 years, people have speculated about why my father @isaachayes left South Park. I’m here to set the record straight.
My dad did not quit South Park. Scientology did.
After the episode “Trapped in the Closet” aired in 2005, my father suffered a stroke just a few… pic.twitter.com/C2wGvT7kcx
— Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) July 18, 2025
NME has reached out to the Church of Scientology for comment.
This comes after a memo surfaced back in 2024, allegedly from the Church of Scientology, and it contained new alleged details of his leaving the role.
The Daily Beast report that the memo was written by former Scientology executive Mike Rinder who said that the episode was “a total joking and degrading of Scientology, Tom Cruise and John Travolta”, both of whom are also members and who were referenced in the show.
The publication meanwhile claims the memo said that Hayes had been “very pissed” about the episode.
The memo allegedly stated: “He said he had had it with the show and is going to quit. This is not being done today so as not to create a media incident.”
The publication also claim that the memo repeated that Hayes chose to leave South Park over the episode.
Rinder also told The Daily Beast: “Isaac placed a call to Doug Herzog, the President of Comedy Central, to get them not to re-air the programme.”
