South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have spoken out on the legal issues surrounding their show as the controversy amid their jibes at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle rages on.
The pair admit they have previously written episodes with the intention of "getting sued," according to reports by The Mirror.
They explained how they believe the majority of backlash to some of their more controversial episodes often comes from those who consider themselves right-wing politically and the writers often like to push boundaries with the scripts and characters.
The Comedy Central cartoon has caused waves across social media once again this month, with the hit series poking fun at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Earlier this week the former working royal couple broke their silence amongst a barrage of royal expert opinions and it is believed they are pursuing legal action over the groundbreaking episode despite a spokesperson for the couple slamming the rumours as "nonsense."
Trey and Matt admitted during a chat on this week's episode of Basic!, a podcast series looking back on the days of basic cable TV, that they often purposely encourage the controversy of the show.
The duo told the podcast hosts Doug Herzog and Jen Chaney that when it comes to backlash over the years, "there are so many [moments] we can't even remember."
"It was all coming from the right, we were considered counter culture," they explain during the interview. "The Catholic League are always on our arse - it kind of always came from that side."
The pair then spoke of South Park's infamous episodes centred around Tom Cruise and his controversial faith in Scientology, titled Trapped in the Closet and Coming Out of the Closet. Scientology has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement.
"Everyone knew Scientology was so litigious. People in Hollywood were scared of Scientology at the time because they would just sue you" Trey and Matt recall when looking back on how the episode came about.
The duo went on to explain how their 2020 MTV Movie Awards short, spoofing Russell Crowe's Gladiator and John Travolta's Battlefield: Earth, led to Scientologist Isaac Hayes (Chef) asking if a rep from The Church of Scientology could see the short before it aired.
Matt and Trey recall "letting the clock run out" when it came to sending a preview and how it resulted in becoming "the first time we got into a thing with Scientology".
They continued: "I think that got us going. The Tom Cruise episode was really about getting sued.
"I mean, poking openly litigious people and seeing where the line is and what you can say. They picked a fight with us and we just went with it."
"That episode is what that is about - they bullied Hollywood and scared people into [fearing] saying the word Scientology," they added.
The South Park episode that has got everyone talking aired last week, titled The World-Wide Privacy Tour, and centred around the woes of a 'fictional' ginger prince and his wife.
The Royal pair were mercilessly slaughtered in the show, as many celebrities often are, as the Prince and Princess of Canada on a "worldwide privacy tour".
The episode saw main character Stan referring to the Harry and Meghan-like cartoons as the "dumb prince and his stupid wife," while another character named Kyle moaned about the private jet parked outside the pair's home.
Despite rumours circulating that Harry and Meghan are considering legal action, their spokesperson allegedly said "this is baseless and boring" in a statement given to Newsweek.
"It’s all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports," the spokesperson told People magazine.
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