South Park: The Streaming Wars casts Randy Marsh as the Paramount+ special’s Karen stereotype through a scene poking fun at Will Smith’s Oscar slap.
The following contains spoilers for South Park: The Streaming Wars, now streaming on Paramount+.
South Park has shifted away from telling wacky stories of the kids in the Colorado town and given more screen time to the adults. Quite a bit of the show has focused on Stan’s dad Randy Marsh, who was responsible for unleashing the COVID-19 virus… among many bad things in his repertoire. Most of his journey, though, revolves around his cannabis company Tegridy Farms and its ongoing war with competitor Credigree Farms.
In South Park: The Streaming Wars, that evolved into both cannabis producers trying to earn money for sending water to Denver. Once more, Randy made clear he’d do anything to watch Steve Black’s company crumble — and the ending of the special wasn’t great for either side. However, in one nasty argument, Randy proved to be the ultimate Karen while his embarrassing sequence let South Park poke fun at Will Smith’s Oscar slap.
This year’s Oscars became controversial when Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, which resulted in Will Smith storming on stage and slapping the comedian. He then returned to his seat before launching a profane tirade. “Keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth!” he yelled a couple of times, throwing off Rock, who continued with the show. Jada Pinkett Smith has since said that the two need to reconcile.
The incident provoked varying discussions throughout the entertainment community. Wanda Sykes said she was traumatized by the slap, while rumors circulated that Sony had stopped developing Bad Boys 4 because of Smith’s behavior until the studio stated that was untrue. South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker had their own commentary on the incident through Randy having a similar outburst during The Streaming Wars. Randy began nagging everyone and demanding things meet his criteria. It resulted in the whole town calling him Karen, and his daughter Shelly eventually had to educate him about the “Karen” stereotype.
Being called a Karen angered Randy and his anger boiled over during another fight with Steve. When the water commissioner came over to ask about their supplies, he also asked for their names… and Steve joked that his rival was Karen Marsh. An incensed Randy screamed, “You better get that f–king name out your f–king mouth!” This was a hilarious moment that subtly called out Smith’s reaction at the Oscars and Randy’s petulant behavior at the same time.
The commissioner laughed it off and went about his business, leaving Randy fuming like Smith had for the rest of the Oscars ceremony. And while the Academy let the Smith incident slide during the remainder of the show, South Park’s citizens continued to drive Randy up a wall. Randy being stuck with the Karen tag could be a running gag that resurfaces during Season 26, especially since he hasn’t changed his attitude at all.
South Park: The Streaming Wars is now streaming on Paramount+.