Trapped in the Closet (South Park)

"Trapped in the Closet"
South Park episode
Xenu as depicted in South Park, with a line onscreen mocking Scientology
Episode no.	Season 9 Episode 12
Directed by	Trey Parker (credited as John Smith)
Written by	Trey Parker (credited as John Smith)
Production code	912
Original air date	November 16, 2005 (2005-11-16)
Episode chronology
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South Park season 9
List of episodes

"Trapped in the Closet" is the twelfth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 137th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 16, 2005. In the episode, Stan joins Scientology in an attempt to find something "fun and free". After the discovery of his surprisingly high "thetan levels", he is recognized as the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker, who was credited as John Smith.^[1]

"Trapped in the Closet" generated significant controversy when a rebroadcast scheduled for March 15, 2006, was replaced by the episode "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls". Comedy Central stated the change was a tribute to Isaac Hayes after Hayes announced his departure from the show, but other reports claimed Tom Cruise, who is portrayed in the episode, threatened to back out of his promotional obligations for the Paramount Pictures film Mission: Impossible III if Viacom, the owner of both Comedy Central and Paramount, allowed a repeat airing of the episode. Cruise and his representative denied the claims. A statement from Hayes, also a Scientologist, said he left the show in response to the episode, though Hayes's son later said the statement was written without the knowledge of his father, who had not recovered from a stroke.^[2] The episode has since been rebroadcast on Comedy Central regularly.

"Trapped in the Closet" was nominated for an Emmy Award in July 2006, in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) category. The episode was also featured among Comedy Central's list of "10 South Parks That Changed The World". TV Guide ranked the episode #17 on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".