April 1, 1998. If you were a fan of South Park back then, you probably remember the pure, unadulterated rage that swept across the internet—well, the dial-up version of it. Comedy Central had promised to finally reveal who Cartman’s father was. Instead, Trey Parker and Matt Stone pulled the ultimate "f*** you" to their audience. They aired an entire episode about two Canadian characters most people barely tolerated yet.
It was called "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus." And right in the middle of this chaotic, fart-filled mess was a caricature of the biggest pop star on the planet: Celine Dion.
Honestly, it wasn't just a cameo. It was a bizarre, tragic, and deeply weird storyline that involved illegitimate children, Saddam Hussein, and a man with a paper bag over his head. You’ve probably forgotten half the details because you were so mad about the Cartman cliffhanger.
Why Celine Dion on South Park Was So Weird
To understand the Celine Dion South Park appearance, you have to remember where she was in her career in 1998. Titanic had just come out. "My Heart Will Go On" was inescapable. She was the queen of sincerity. South Park, conversely, was the king of being "trashy."
The show didn't just make fun of her singing. They gave her a whole backstory that felt like a fever dream. In the episode, we find out she had a "bastard daughter" named Sally with Terrance. Yeah, the guy who farts for a living.
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It gets weirder. Celine isn't even with Terrance anymore. She’s moved on to a guy named Ugly Bob. The joke is that Ugly Bob looks exactly like every other Canadian character on the show—round head, flappy mouth—but the other characters find him so physically revolting he has to wear a grocery bag over his head.
Celine Dion falls for him while the bag is on. She even gets pregnant by him. When the bag finally comes off, she screams in horror, but then she just tells him to put the bag back on so they can keep going. It’s dark. It’s mean. It’s classic 90s South Park.
The Saddam Hussein Connection
The plot of the episode is basically a parody of the movie Not Without My Daughter. Saddam Hussein (portrayed as a cut-out photo of the real dictator) tries to take over Canada. He kidnaps Sally, the daughter of Terrance and Celine, and takes her to Iran (the show confusingly swaps Iraq and Iran constantly).
Eventually, the conflict comes to a head at a Canadian football game. Saddam forces Celine Dion to sing the Iraqi National Anthem. It’s a total power move.
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How do they defeat him? Not with a hero's speech. Not with a military strike. The entire stadium farts at the same time, creating a toxic gas cloud that kills Saddam. Celine then leads the crowd in a rendition of "O Canada."
The Fallout and the "Prank"
People hated this episode. Like, really hated it. Comedy Central received about 2,000 complaints in a single week. Fans felt betrayed because they’d waited months for the Cartman reveal.
But looking back, the Celine Dion South Park portrayal was one of the first times the show proved it didn't care about celebrity status. They took a global icon and put her in a relationship with a guy whose face "looks like someone tried to put out a forest fire with a screwdriver."
Key Details You Might Have Missed:
- The Voice: Celine wasn't voiced by herself, obviously. She was voiced by Toddy Walters, who did most of the female voices in the early seasons and worked on South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
- The Song: Before the "Not Without My Anus" episode, a parody of her Titanic hit appeared in "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut." It was titled "There You Are!" and it’s basically a note-for-note mockery of her power ballad style.
- The Canadian Rule: In the South Park universe, Celine Dion is one of the few celebrities depicted as an "actual" Canadian (with the split head). Other stars like Bryan Adams and Corey Hart get the same treatment, while American celebs are drawn in the traditional show style.
Is it Still Relevant?
Sorta. While South Park has moved on to parodying newer targets like Prince Harry or Lizzo, the Celine Dion episode remains a landmark in "troll" history. It established the "Canadian" aesthetic of the show—those flapping heads and the obsession with "Kroff Dinner" (Kraft Mac and Cheese).
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It also showed that the writers weren't afraid to take a beloved figure and drag them into the mud. Or, in this case, into a cloud of flatulence.
If you're looking to revisit this piece of TV history, here’s how to handle it:
- Watch with Context: Don't expect high-brow satire. This is Season 2, Episode 1. It’s crude, the animation is rough, and the pacing is intentionaly annoying.
- Check the Credits: Listen for the music. The parodies of Celine’s style are actually musically impressive, even if the lyrics are nonsense.
- Ignore the Logic: Don't try to figure out the timeline of Celine’s kids in the show. It’s never mentioned again in a meaningful way.
The episode is currently streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max) and the South Park Studios website. It’s worth a watch just to see how a simple April Fools' joke managed to break the internet before the internet was even fully "broken."
Next Step: To see how the show's Canadian humor evolved after this, watch the Season 7 episode "It's Christmas in Canada," which brings back some of these same themes with a slightly more polished (but still ridiculous) edge.