‘South Park’s most furious episode ever’: the jaw-dropping Satanic takedown of Donald Trump

In other words, Sermon on the ’Mount is a grand dare. If Trump could get $16m by suing Paramount over an editorially acceptable edit on a news programme, then it stands to reason that he will try to go after a cartoon that depicts him trying to insert his microscopic penis into Satan. And if he does sue, will Paramount risk destroying its already damaged reputation by capitulating yet again?

There’s plenty of nuance to this battle, not least the fact that the programme’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have just signed a $1.5bn contract with Paramount+, ensuring that it will exclusively stream South Park for the next five years, but the battle lines have been drawn. Paramount finds itself caught in yet another bind. If push comes to shove, who will it side with: a president who might block its $8bn merger out of spite, or its most aggressively provocative show? The way things are shaping up, this could be a hell of a season.