How Game Of Thrones Writer George R.R. Martin Felt About His South Park Parody

"South Park" is one of the best cartoons of modern times, full of biting commentary, hilarious situations, and a whole town's worth of memorable side characters. The show's humor has made it kind of a cultural Rorschach test for over a quarter of a century, having earned legions of defenders but also people who have tried to ban it and yielding many opinions on whether the satire is effective or just plain offensive.

Part of the appeal of "South Park" is the way it parodies pop culture and celebrities, which have had mixed reactions by its subjects. Reportedly, Tom Cruise hated his portrayal, as did Ed Sheeran, while others loved to be a part of the show, like most of the Jonas Brothers and George Clooney (the latter of whom was an important early supporter of the series).

One of the show's best parodies is its three-episode "Game of Thrones" parody, in which the children of South Park split into factions over which gaming console they're all buying on Black Friday, while Randy Marsh works with the mall security to fend off the hordes of psychopathically violent bargain shoppers.

George R.R. Martin himself is parodied in one of those three episodes, and when he was asked at a Q&A event about his reaction to the episode, he was surprisingly positive. "I'm glad they were relatively gentle with me," Martin said. "When they tell you that you're gonna be in 'South Park' and you remember what they've done to Tom Cruise or Barbra Streisand, you live in terror, but they were relatively gentle with me."

Though Martin did not seem offended or angry about the parody, he did have one big nitpick with his portrayal on "South Park." As he told Clevver News, the show made one egregious mistake on his preferred anatomical part. "My character on 'South Park' is obsessed about weenies. I have to deny this as a scurrilous rumor," Martin clarified. "I have nothing against weenies, weenies are fine, but I am not obsessed with weenies. I am definitely on the boobies side of the equation. They picked the wrong equation for me: boobies, not weenies."

The "Game of Thrones" parody trilogy is part of one of the best seasons of "South Park," and it's an outstanding parody, poking fun at its subject's many flaws while also being unequivocally a homage to its best qualities. In the case of these three episodes, it's easy to enjoy them as a true "Game of Thrones" fan, while also laughing at the way it verbalizes some of the criticisms of the show, which rang true for at least the first handful of seasons.

Watching the parody in 2025, it's hilarious how some of the kids' complaints — like Daenerys' dragons taking forever to "show up and kick everyone's butt" — ended up being disappointments in the actual show. The recurring joke of Cartman in the "garden of betrayal" poking fun at the many, many backstabbings in "Game of Thrones" is consistently funny, while the literal bloodshed during Black Friday, with the mall security team echoing the Night's Watch, is an effective homage to the epic battles in the show that captivated audiences around the world for nearly a decade. 

And sure, as Martin pointed out, there are nowhere near as many wieners in "Game of Thrones" as there are on these three episodes of "South Park." And yet, this dumb joke also gave us the single best parody of the "Game of Thrones" intro music, with a choir singing about wieners in one of the three episodes.