but then why would trey & parker then give the chef character such an undignified send-off. it felt like the whole thing was a mockery under the assumption that hayes was being a snowflake about the show, but if they knew at the time that it wasn't the case then something doesn't add up
I assume you're talking about the episode "The Return of Chef".
If I recall, at the time, Hayes had abruptly departed, claiming that Parker and Stone had gone too far with some of their jokes, that some things shouldn't be ridiculed, and that they'd crossed a line. He had made many public statements claiming that his departure was due to moral reasons, rather than anything else. Of course, Parker and Stone knew that Hayes was a scientologist, and that he only started having problems with them after the episode "Trapped in the Closet", in which they ridiculed Tom Cruise and the religion itself, ending it with Stan saying something akin to "Alright, go ahead, sue me!". To Hayes' claims, either Parker or Stone had replied that Hayes had no issues with taking his check whenever the show had mocked Christians or Jews, and that he only started having issues when they'd done the same to his own religion.
Some time soon after, the episode "Return of Chef" came out. By then, they'd realized that Hayes' departure was done more out of pressure from the church, rather than his own will. So the episode followed a lot of the same lines as "Trapped in the Closet", with a character describing in depth the beliefs of a certain organization with the message "This is what [X] actually believes" on the screen, while re-using dialogue lines from Hayes' previous scenes hashed together. It was a spoof of the situation, but the episode in general was mostly grieving about the influence of a "fruity little club" on the person himself. They weren't blaming Hayes as much as they were blaming scientology. It's also telling that they never mentioned the character again afterwards, never brought him back, despite the ending showing him being remade in a type of Darth Vader armor.
makes sense but why would he take so long to reveal this
He didn't. That was known right when it happened.
but then why would trey & parker then give the chef character such an undignified send-off. it felt like the whole thing was a mockery under the assumption that hayes was being a snowflake about the show, but if they knew at the time that it wasn't the case then something doesn't add up
I assume you're talking about the episode "The Return of Chef".
If I recall, at the time, Hayes had abruptly departed, claiming that Parker and Stone had gone too far with some of their jokes, that some things shouldn't be ridiculed, and that they'd crossed a line. He had made many public statements claiming that his departure was due to moral reasons, rather than anything else. Of course, Parker and Stone knew that Hayes was a scientologist, and that he only started having problems with them after the episode "Trapped in the Closet", in which they ridiculed Tom Cruise and the religion itself, ending it with Stan saying something akin to "Alright, go ahead, sue me!". To Hayes' claims, either Parker or Stone had replied that Hayes had no issues with taking his check whenever the show had mocked Christians or Jews, and that he only started having issues when they'd done the same to his own religion.
Some time soon after, the episode "Return of Chef" came out. By then, they'd realized that Hayes' departure was done more out of pressure from the church, rather than his own will. So the episode followed a lot of the same lines as "Trapped in the Closet", with a character describing in depth the beliefs of a certain organization with the message "This is what [X] actually believes" on the screen, while re-using dialogue lines from Hayes' previous scenes hashed together. It was a spoof of the situation, but the episode in general was mostly grieving about the influence of a "fruity little club" on the person himself. They weren't blaming Hayes as much as they were blaming scientology. It's also telling that they never mentioned the character again afterwards, never brought him back, despite the ending showing him being remade in a type of Darth Vader armor.
that makes more sense! cheers
memory is hazy, i thought i remembered the whole chef zombie thing dragging on over 2-3 episodes
It's so long ago I really don't remember specifics, but there were clearly serious disagreements between them.
Edit: My mistake. I thought the "reveal" was that Scientology was the reason he left, rather than the fact they made the decision without his input.