Yahoo! News reports that Isaac Hayes quit South Park:

Isaac Hayes has quit South Park, where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.

Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

"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 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"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."

South Park co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "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."
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Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey 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."

As much as I like Isaac Hayes, I've now lost some respect for him. His belief in Scientology aside (and that's a pretty big thing to ignore), I can't believe that he doesn't realize how patently hypocritical his actions are. As Matt Stone pointed out, South Park takes great pains to satirize (and offend) just about every religion, race, and creed imaginable (with the notable exception of Scientology), so if Hayes really believed what he is now preaching, he should have quit a long time ago. Instead, he tries to cover the fact that he is suddenly personally offended after a single episode (Trapped In The Closet, which aired in November 2005 and satirized Scientology) with a blanket intolerance statement that just doesn't hold water. Very lame...

Update: Of all places, The Soup had some interesting information that further enlightened me on this matter. Just two months ago the New York Daily News interviewed Isaac Hayes, asking him about his role on South Park. Here is his response:

Oh, yes. We're now in our 11th season, would you believe it? I love the humor in it, the audacity of Matt (Stone) and Trey (Parker). They have the b-s to do what they do. Nobody is exempt from their humor. They're equal-opportunity offenders (laughs out loud). Don't be offended by it. If you take it too seriously, you have problems.

OK, now I've lost all respect for him.