I’m mostly groping in the dark too, but gather round, you ambitious youngsters. As far as I can tell, here are South Park’s rules for cancel culture immunity:

1. Be really funny

2. Make fun of everything

3. Make industry gatekeepers wealthy

4. Get famous before 2013

Sorry up-and-comers, #4 is going to be tough for you to achieve. And what’s so special about 2013 you ask?

That’s about the time The Maddening began.

[Yes, I think Ted’s onto something here, but it’s not complete. Between 3 and 4 should be: Don’t give a f***. Even before 2013, Stone and Parker made that a key part of their success, and it mattered then too, although maybe not as much as it does now. They took on Scientology and had a dramatic falling-out with Isaac Hayes over it in 2005, and they lampooned Mohammed (very lightly) in 2010. None of that impacted them, however, because they made it clear that they didn’t care what critics had to say about them. That alone won’t work for survival, but combined with the first three, it’s probably enough. — Ed]