It’s hard to believe South Park is nearing its 30th birthday at this point. The show has been on the air for so long, I can actually remember talking to my seatmate about it while learning to type on a computer for the very first time way back in the ‘90s. I snuck behind my parents' back to watch the Comedy Central series during my youth, and have been an avid fan forever after. Which is why I’m shocked I never realized what the heck Kenny is saying during the South Park intro.
I'd never even thought about it before this week, but it turns out I was maybe better off not knowing the truth. Apparently, the phrases have changed over the years, but each and every single time Kenny goes mumblecore in that full parka, he is saying stuff that would make your mother blush. Thanks to one enterprising Reddit user, I am fully blushing, too.
So, what does Kenny say on South Park? It’s changed over the years, but here’s the rundown:
- Season 1 & 2: “I like girls with deep vaginas. I like girls with big fat titties.”
- Season 3, 4 & 5: “Yeah, I’ve got a 10-inch penis. Use your mouth if you want to clean it.”
- Season 7, 8, 9 & 10: “Someday I’ll be old enough to stick my dick in Brittney’s butt!”
- Season 10 to the Present: “I like fucking silly bitches ‘cause I know my penis likes it.”
If you’ll note from above, Season 6 has been left out, which is apparently a season Kenny was given even less screentime than usual, and Timmy took over the slot in the opening montage.
Listen, I’ve watched South Park for a long time, and I did know that one of the reasons we don’t really as an audience get to understand Kenny much is because of his penchant for casually dropping profanity (which is also probably why he's usually cited as one of the more popular South Park characters). Regardless, I did not realize what Kenny was saying was so over-the-top outrageous, and I also had not realized the show had changed the opening sequence comments over the course of many great episodes.
This is truly one of those, you think you know something, but you don't really know something moments for me. Not just for me, either, as some other South Park fans also shared in the comments.
- "My childhood memories of South Park have a deeper meaning now."
- "Knew about the first one and didn't even know they changed it."
- "I remembered the conversation at the lunch table at school when someone dropped this bombshell on us. Miss being a kid before the internet was up everyone's ass. Finding out obscure shit like from a magazine or word of mouth made you the smartest kid at school for a day."
- "😂🤣😂🤣😂 I always thought that about Season 1 but didn't know for sure! Didn't know the others though."
One user even had a tip to watch the show “with subtitles,” which would have given away the game much sooner, had I thought to do this. (I had not.) Meanwhile, the South Park guys have always made it clear Kenny was based on an archetype of real kids they’d known and met, with creator Matt Stone saying in an OG interview from way back in 1997 that they modeled the kids off of real kids who say weird, NSFW things without actually realizing what it is they are saying:
That’s kind of where, with the language, people are like, ‘That’s little kids cursing!’ But it’s like, ‘Well, guess what? Little kids talk like that.’ Everyone’s like, “Well, I’ve never heard them do that,” but then…what’s her name? Jane Goodall? With the chimpanzees? Exactly the same thing: it’s like, once you’re there, they act differently. If you happen to walk in on a bunch of little third graders, they’re cussing their brains out. They love it. That’s the only words they use. But they use them in a way that’s kind of wrong, ’cause they don’t really understand the words. My little cousin, man: dirtiest mouth of anybody I know.
Kenny’s had it rough, though. Matt Stone and Trey Parker once described him as that "poor kid" you'd know who would "eat worms just to impress you." He was killed off in every episode for years, we’ve barely ever seen his full face, and now we know he’s just being as disgusting as possible based on things Matt Stone and Trey Parker remember about being kids. Here's Parker talking about creating Kenny (via TikTok):
I started talking about third grade experiences and things that happened in third grade. We realized that sort of no matter where you were from, they were similar. You know, you’re a little bastard and you talked about disgusting things and had totally different values.
This isn't the first time we've learned a wild fact about South Park, but this is one that will certainly stick with me as the diversive, no-holds-barred comedy keeps moving forward (hopefully on the 2026 TV schedule).
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