Editing Isaac Hayes (section)

====Departure from ''South Park''====
[[File: Isaac Hayes 2.jpg|thumb|Hayes performing in 2007]]
In the ''South Park'' episode "[[Trapped in the Closet (South Park)|Trapped in the Closet]]," a satire of [[Church of Scientology|Scientology]] that aired on November 16, 2005, Hayes did not appear in his role as Chef. In an interview for ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', Hayes said that he was not pleased with the show's treatment of Scientology, but said that he "understands what Matt and Trey are doing."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/isaac-hayes-1798208903|title=A.V. Club interview of Isaac Hayes|website=AV Club|date=January 4, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025185344/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/44132/2 |archive-date=October 25, 2006 }}</ref>

On March 13, 2006, a statement was issued in Hayes's name, indicating that he was asking to be released from his contract with [[Comedy Central]], calling recent episodes that satirized religious beliefs intolerant. "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", he was quoted as saying in the press-statement. However, the statement did not directly mention Scientology. A response from Stone said that Hayes's complaints stemmed from the show's criticism of Scientology and that he "has no problem –and he's cashed plenty of checks– with our show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons, or Jews."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/isaac-hayes-quits-south-park-citing-religious-intolerance-1.585043 |work=CBC |date=March 23, 2006 |title=Isaac Hayes quits 'South Park' citing religious intolerance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314005054/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/03/13/southpark-chef-quits.html |archive-date=March 14, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=South Park gets revenge on Chef |date=March 23, 2006 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4836286.stm}}</ref>

On March 20, 2006, two days before the episode "[[The Return of Chef]]" aired, [[Roger Friedman]] of [[Fox News]] reported having been told that the March 13 statement was made in Hayes's name, but not by Hayes himself. He wrote: "Isaac Hayes did not quit ''South Park''. My sources say that someone quit it for him. ... Friends in Memphis tell me that Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about ''South Park''. They are mystified."<ref name="Friedman-March2006">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/chefs-quitting-controversy|publisher=Fox News|author=Roger Friedman|date=March 20, 2006|title=Chef's Quitting Controversy|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016174852/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188463,00.html|archive-date=October 16, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2016 oral history of ''South Park'' in ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'', Hayes's son [[Isaac Hayes III]] said the decision to leave the show was made by his father's entourage, all of whom were ardent Scientologists, and that it was made after Hayes suffered a stroke, leaving him vulnerable to outside influence and unable to make such decisions on his own.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Parker|first1=Ryan|title=Holy Shit, 'South Park' Is 20! Trey Parker, Matt Stone on Censors, Tom Cruise and Scientology's Role in Isaac Hayes Quitting|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/south-park-20-years-history-trey-parker-matt-stone-928212|access-date=September 15, 2016|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=September 14, 2016}}</ref>