Isaac 'Chef' Hayes quits 'South Park'

Soul singer Isaac Hayes, voice of the Yoda-esque 'Chef' character in Comedy Central's 'South Park', said he was quitting the show after nine seasons, citing 'inappropriate ridicule' of religion as the reason. ""'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,' the soul legend said. 'Religious beliefs are sacred to people and at all times should be respected and honored. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.""' Evidently, the place for satire is when the show's talking about Christianity. Or Judaism. Or Buddhism. Or Islam. Or Hinduism. Or farting Canadians. Or, really, anything that's not Scientology, the religion Hayes belongs to that 'South Park' recently ridiculed. Being the observant folks they are, Matt Stone and Trey Parker commented on this coincidence: Past episodes of South Park have skewered Catholics, Jews and Mormons, among others. However, according to Stone, he and Parker 'never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. 'He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin,' Stone told the Associated Press. So the end has come for baritoned chocolate salty balls recipes and instructional ditties on getting women in the mood. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Chef, though. Seeing as how the two parties have parted in bad blood, there's bound to be a sweet death scene in the upcoming weeks. Most likely involving Tom Cruise and at least one or two references about Scientology being 100% true."