South Park‘s decade-plus of brilliantly skewering celebs has made that type of satire de rigueur for adult-oriented animation. But when The Boondocks‘ latest episode featured a sassy, gun-waiving, bump-and-grinding Madea-esque character that ruled stage, film, and TV — and the Jesus-praising male auteur who plays her — it still got folks talking. The “Pause” episode’s Ma Duke character was clearly Madea, and it stands to reason that the Winston Jerome character was Tyler Perry (neither Perry’s office nor Turner Networks would comment on the episode). Jerome’s works were portrayed as poorly written and almost buffoonish and set him up as a closeted, cultish leader, who created his Ma Duke empire as a way to solicit sex with men. In the episode, Huey and Riley’s grandpa gets cast in Jerome’s new play, “Ma Duke Gets a Man.” First he’s asked to kiss Ma Duke on stage, then Jerome asks him straight out for sex.
Even though shows like South Park have taught us that there are no sacred cows, did Boondocks go too far with “Pause”? A satirical take on the kind of work Perry does and the “prosperity Christianity” he seemingly espouses is one thing, but some folks are up in arms because the episode also calls into question his motivation and brings his sexuality into the mix. What do you think? Is that all fair game? Did you see the episode? Funny, mean, both?
