Author: Ryan Parker

September 27, 2016 3:58pm PT by Ryan Parker

Courtesy of Comedy Central

“We knew it was risky,” says Walter Levitt, chief marketing officer for Comedy Central.

South Park is still the master of ruffling feathers. 

In an effort to promote the 20th season, which premiered Sept. 14, mobile billboards have been placed in seven locations around the country depicting scenes that coincide with the trucks’ placements. 

The marketing ploy did not go over so well with three locations: the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Church of Scientology.

“We knew it was risky,” Walter Levitt, chief marketing officer for Comedy Central told The Hollywood Reporter. “We knew some locations might not be pleased to have us out there, but we thought this is a perfect way to celebrate everything the series has covered in its 19 seasons.” 

The billboard in front of the White House featured a cartoon President Barack and Michelle Obama. The Scientology truck featured a scene from the infamous 2005 episode “Trapped in the Closet” in which the church and its most famous follower, Tom Cruise, were skewered. All billboards stated: “We’ve Been There.” 

“In some cases, the locals were not pleased to have us outside their locations and asked us to leave, but that was all expected, and we completely understand why,” Levitt said, confirming “personnel” from the three aforementioned locations asked the trucks to leave the area. 

“We did this stunt because we thought it was a great way to remind South Park fans of all the amazing moments of the past 19 seasons and truly a perfect way to celebrated the 20th season,” Levitt said. 

A request for comment from the Church of Scientology was not immediately returned. 

A full list of locations, including outside of Trump Tower in New York City, are below: 

Colorado: South Park and Casa Bonita

Salt Lake City: Mormon Church Headquarters

Washington D.C.: Lincoln Memorial and the White House (above)

Silicon Valley: Facebook Headquarters

New York: Trump Tower (campaign headquarters, below) and Hillary Clinton’s N.Y. headquarters

Los Angeles: Church of Scientology, Whole Foods, Hooters, PF Changs, KFC

Buffalo: Canadian Border

Check out the trucks at every location in the slideshow below:

South Park

September 20, 2016 7:54am PT by Ryan Parker

Screengrab/NBC

JonBenet Ramsey

“We hope that the next step is there will be a groundswelling of understanding and support to push the Boulder district attorney to correct the mistakes that were made and solve the case,” says retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente.

Producer Tom Forman says the people of Boulder, Colo., could not have been nicer while the CBS special The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey was being filmed this summer, but he was surprised that local law enforcement did not want to aid special investigators in their quest for answers. 

In the two-part special, aired Sunday and Monday, a team of former, specialized law enforcement officials re-examine available evidence and conduct interviews in an effort to shine new light on the almost 20-year-old homicide of a six-year-old girl violently murdered inside her family’s home around Christmas. 

“The people of Boulder could not have been nicer to us as we shot this, but on an official level, there’s no support for attempting to solve the JonBenet Ramsey murder,” Forman told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday afternoon. “We hoped for more cooperation, but were not entirely surprised when we didn’t get it.”

The CBS special investigation was not the only production in the small town trying to crack the case, but Forman says with the team of people working on The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey, they expected more cooperation. 

“I am aware we were a part of the media circus that is coming to town, and that must be overwhelming,” Forman says. 

That team of investigators comprised retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente, former Scotland Yard criminal behavior expert Laura Richards, forensic linguistics expert James Fitzgerald, famed criminologist Werner Spitz, former Boulder Country District Attorney’s Office investigator James Kolar, statement analyst Stan Burke and forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee.

Citing popular series Serial and Making a Murder, both Forman and Clemente told THR they hoped the work done would inspire the public to push local law enforcement to re-examine the case and finally solve it.

“We hope that the next step is there will be a groundswelling of understanding and support to push the Boulder district attorney to correct the mistakes that were made and solve the case,” Clemente says. “We hope the same kind of groundswell will force the district attorney to step off the position it’s been on and allow the Boulder police department to take it from an open, but inactive investigation to an active investigation that can be resolved.”

At the conclusion of Monday’s episode, the team of special investigators all agreed on the theory that JonBenet’s brother, Burke, who was nine when she died, killed JonBenet accidentally in a fit of rage. The seasoned investigators also asserted that John and Patsy Ramsey concocted the entire kidnapping scenario to confuse authorities and spare Burke. 

“For me it is convincing,” Forman says of the conclusion. 

Investigators reached out multiple times to both Burke and John Ramsey to be a part of their investigation. Both men passed, Forman says.   

“Those are the only two living people who were in that house [when the murder took place],” Forman says. “Who knows what they might know. Who knows what they would have said. They chose not to.” 

September 19, 2016 9:04pm PT by Ryan Parker

‘The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey’/CBS

Ramsey family.

“In my opinion, the Ramsey family did not want law enforcement to solve this case, and that’s why it remains unsolved,” says retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente.

After going through the evidence available and conducting interviews with some of the those involved in the case, a panel of law enforcement specialists all agreed on the theory that Burke Ramsey killed his sister, JonBenet, during Christmas 1996. 

Retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente and former Scotland Yard criminal behavior expert Laura Richards worked with specialists for the CBS two-part special, The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey. The series premiered Sunday night. 

The panel of investigators included forensic linguistics expert James Fitzgerald, famed criminologist Werner Spitz, former Boulder Country District Attorney’s Office investigator James Kolar, statement analyst Stan Burke and forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee. 

Everyone on the panel concluded on the theory that the then 9-year-old Burke — who he and his parents have always maintained was innocent — killed the then 6-year-old JonBenet by accident in a fit of rage, perhaps over a toy or her eating his food. 

The seasoned investigators also asserted that John and Patsy Ramsey concocted the entire kidnapping scenario to confuse authorities and spare Burke.

“I don’t think Burke was involved in the cover-up,” Fitzgerald noted. 

Clemente added, “In my opinion, the Ramsey family did not want law enforcement to solve this case, and that’s why it remains unsolved.” 

During the two-night series, investigators looked at numerous pieces of evidence, and to better understand the surroundings, had rooms from the Ramsey home re-constructed to be identical to the day JonBenet was reported missing and ultimately found dead. 

Evidence discussed and asserted by the investigators to reach an agreement on the final theory in the second episode included the transfer of DNA onto JonBenet’s underwear — it could have come from someone at the manufacture — which led them to rule out a sexual assault; the red marks on JonBenet’s back being made by a toy train track piece, not a stungun; and that nothing — spider webs or other debris — around the window seal the perpetrator allegedly entered was disturbed. 

During the Sunday premiere, Clemente and Richards worked with an audio expert to decipher what was said on the emergency phone call after Patsy Ramsey believed the line was disconnected following her report that JonBenet had been kidnapped for ransom.

Investigators heard what sounded like three different voices talking in the background on the other end.

Clemente, Richards and the audio engineer said they heard what sounded like JonBenet’s father, John, saying, “We’re not speaking to you.” Then, likely Patsy, asking, “What did you do?,” followed by “Help me, Jesus.” It may also have been “Help me, Jesus” twice in a row. Finally, what sounded like the voice of a child — which the investigators claimed must have been Burke — asking, “What did you find?”

During the first episode, investigators also discussed how the ransom note did not make sense for multiple reasons and examined the exact cause of death of JonBenet; Spitz concluding it was a blow to the head by a blunt force object, likely a Maglite flashlight. 

A note at the end of the series on Monday stated the investigators hoped their findings would inspire the Boulder Country District Attorney’s Office to reexamine the case.