Fans point out that the comedy series South Park was announced almost five years ago during the Paris Olympics, after a female boxer lost to a “biological male” in 46 seconds.
The destruction of Italy’s Angela Carini by Algeria’s Imane Khelif has sparked anger after it emerged that Khelif had previously been banned from competition for allegedly having ‘male sex chromosomes’.
In a 2019 episode titled “Go Strong Woman, Go,” a transgender athlete named “Heather Swanson” knocks her female opponent across the ring, leaving her bloodied and bruised, before taking the stage and accepting the trophy.
“I can’t tell you how free I feel now that I identify as a woman,” she tells an interviewer as she adjusts her sunglasses. “Now that I can compete as a woman, I’m ready to beat the other girls!”
The 2019 South Park episode “Go Strong Woman, Go” featured a muscular and bearded transgender athlete beating up a female opponent in a boxing ring
Italy’s Angela Carini lasted just 46 seconds in her Olympic bout against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who had previously been banned from women’s boxing because of her male chromosomes
Carin, 25, threw her helmet to the ground and cried as the fight was stopped, screaming “this is unfair” after just two devastating punches from her Algerian opponent during Thursday’s match.
“I’m used to suffering,” she said afterwards. “I’ve never had such a blow, it’s impossible to go on like this.”
The South Park episode opens with a merciless parody of biological women welcoming transgender competitors.
“Awesome. I feel honored to be a part of history,” says the reigning Strongwoman champion when asked about the competition’s first transgender competitor.
“I have a lot of amazing trans friends who are athletes, so we’re all inspired that this woman is competing,” she continues, before the bearded and muscular Swanson enters the frame wearing a ten-gallon hat.
When the character is criticized for claiming that she only transitioned two weeks ago, she tells the interviewer, “I’m not here to talk about my transition; I’m here to kick that f***ing ass.”
“Let me tell you something, I’m going to roll up the other women in here and I’m going to smoke them. I’m the strongest woman this state has ever seen!”
Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s cartoon has long been lauded for keeping a finger on the pulse of the country’s culture wars and offering an eerie prediction of how they might unfold.
The cartoon showed transgender athlete “Heather Swanson” winning a victory over female opponents and bragging, “I’m the strongest woman this state has ever seen!”
Khelif was disqualified from the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year after tests revealed she had XY chromosomes
Carin, 25, threw her helmet to the ground and sobbed “this is unfair” as the fight was stopped after just two devastating punches from her Algerian opponent
Episodes covered the legalization of recreational marijuana, the killing of Osama bin Laden and even singer Ricky Martin coming out as gay.
However, fans online noted that the events in Paris were rather predictable.
“It’s weird, but at the same time it’s not like South Park hit the nail on the head, something like this was bound to happen,” one person wrote.
“South Park is basically just an animated docuseries,” claimed another.
“South Park had a vision years ahead of its time to see the decline of standards in our world,” added a third.
Khelif was disqualified from the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year after tests revealed she had “XY chromosomes”, an indication that someone is biologically male.
But the IOC, which sets the eligibility requirements for boxing at the Olympics, demanded that Khelif and another boxer, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, who previously failed a gender test, meet “all eligibility and entry requirements.”
Khelif herself told Algerian media that she has had high testosterone levels since birth.
And Italy’s Carin isn’t the only female boxer to criticize the power of Khelif’s punches. After the Algerian’s disqualification in 2023, Mexican boxer Brianda Tamara recalled her experience of fighting Khelif earlier in the tournament.
“When I was fighting with her I felt completely overwhelmed,” she wrote on X.
‘Her punches hurt me a lot, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that before in my 13 years as a boxer, and also not in my sparring with men.
The episode also mercilessly parodies biological women welcoming transgender rivals
South Park Online noted that the events in Paris had a grim predictability
“Thank God I got out of the ring safely that day, and it’s good that they finally realized that.”
In response to the controversy, the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) condemned what it called the “unfounded” attacks on Khelif.
“COA strongly condemns the unethical targeted and defamatory statements of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with unfounded propaganda from certain foreign media,” the spokespersons said.
“Such attacks on her personality and dignity are extremely unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympic Games.”
