Tom Cruise, who is portrayed in the episode, reportedly 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. "Trapped in the Closet" generated significant controversy.
Kelly serialized song of the same name and a satirized version of R. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. After the discovery of his surprisingly high " thetan levels", he is recognized as the reincarnation of L. In the episode, Stan joins Scientology in an attempt to find something "fun and free". The 137th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 16, 2005. " Trapped in the Closet" is the twelfth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. Xenu as depicted in South Park, with a line onscreen mocking Scientology