Charlie Kirk would not have wanted South Park to remove episode joking about him: TPUSA's Andrew Kolvet

Turning Point USA spokesman and close friend to Charlie Kirk, Andrew Kolvet, has said that the slain founder of Turning Point USA "loved that he was featured in 'South Park'" and wanted the episode to continue airing on Comedy Central after his death. The episode satirized Kirk, but he leaned into the episode when it was released, even making his social media profile picture a screenshot from the episode.

The episode of South Park titled "Got a Nut," had Cartman imitate Kirk in how he set up a table to debate college students, and even had Kirk's hairstyle in the episode.

After Kirk was assassinated on September 10, Comedy Central pulled the South Park episode from its line-up, but the episode remained on Paramount+. Some conservatives had taken issue with the episode satirizing Kirk in the wake of the assassination, but those close to him said Kirk would not have wanted it to be pulled off the air.

"Hey Paramount Plus, as someone who can speak with some authority on this, Charlie loved that he was featured in South Park. He told me many times. He would want the episode back up," Kolvet said in a post on X.

“Honestly, my first reaction was that I kinda laughed,” Kirk said after the teaser for the episode dropped in July. Kirk told Fox News that he used to watch South Park in high school and said they were an “equal opportunity offender."

“It’s kinda funny, and it kinda goes to show the cultural impact and the resonance that our movement has been able to achieve. I look at this as a badge of honor," he added at the time.

Kirk also made sure to emphasize that conservatives need to be able to laugh at themselves. “We as conservatives need to be able to take a joke. We shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. That’s something that the left has always done, to great detriment to themselves and the movement. Look, they’re professional comedians. They’re probably going to roast me, and I think that’s fine. That’s what it’s all about, being in public life and making a difference."