CNN reported on Tuesday, October 8, 2019, that South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker got cheeky with China after the communist behemoth scrubbed the show from its countrywide internet.

The “South Park” episode, “Band in China” critiqued how Hollywood shapes content to avoid offending Chinese government censors. 

The iconic and irreverent animated series has made its mark being offensive. China, as a result, has minimized clips available of the show on its closed internet system. Everything online from Chinese streaming services, social media and fan pages have been scrubbed (deleted) by the government, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

China loves basketball even more than Americans, as it turns out.

According to the CNN report, Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey expressed support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in a tweet on Sunday and Chinese backlash followed.

The Chinese Basketball Association was aghast, stating it would suspend all cooperation with the team, and China’s top state broadcaster announced that it would suspend airing Houston Rockets events.

The NBA said Monday that it recognizes that Morey’s views “have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable.”