South Park backlash inspires Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

As most of you know by now, last week’s episode of South Park was censored by Comedy Central over fears the show might stoke violent retribution by radical Muslims.

Now it has inspired an artists’ movement — a national Everybody Draw Mohammed Day. Molly Norris, the cartoonist who started it, says she wants no part of the May 20 event, which is gaining momentum online.

“I made a cartoon that went viral but [this campaign] isn’t really my thing,” cartoonist Molly Norris told Comic Riffs, characterizing her cartoon as merely a personal response to Comedy Central’s censorship of a “South Park” episode last week. “Other folks have taken it over” — an appropriation she says she is distancing herself from.

Eight thousand people have already joined the Facebook page. Other media, including The Daily Show and The Simpsons (image above from Sunday night’s episode), have publicly supported South Park‘s right to parody. It’ll be interesting to see where this all leads.