Cartoon Fracas Episode IV: A New Dope

By Roland Lara on Mar 15, 2006 3:11PM

It started with some cartoons.

And some people rioted.

And some people died.

So some people wrote about it.

And now some people are fired.

And it started all started with some cartoons.

We’ve covered the fall-out of the Daily Illini covering the Danish cartoon controversy here, here, and here, but it was only yesterday that the editor responsible for the decision to publish the cartoons was officially fired. He even sent a note to the Trib’s Eric Zorn: “It's all over for me, I've been fired.”

The editor, Acton Gorton, was let go apparently because he “failed to adequately discuss the publication of the cartoons before they appeared in print[.]”

In other cartoon news, Isaac Hayes, he of the now-defunct blues club on Clark (with marquee: “Damn Right We Got the Blues”), has left his role as the voice of Chef on South Park because he is shocked – shocked! – that South Park is insensitive to religious beliefs.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

Matt Stone, co-creator of South Park, shot back: "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians."

South Park took on Scientology and Scientologists last season. And now Chef is taking his chocolate salty balls and going home because nobody puts Tom Cruise in the closet.