Toby Morton

Last updated
Toby Morton
Born
Evergreen, Colorado, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
Known for
  • Online activism
  • screenwriting
Political party Democratic
Children1
Website Official website (archived)

Toby Morton is an American comedian, documentary filmmaker, online activist, political critic, and screenwriter. [1] [2] [3] [4] A member of the Democratic Party, [4] he is well known for creating websites satirizing and antagonizing Republican figures for their stances on political subjects. [2] [5] In addition, he has written several comedy series and shorts, including South Park (1997-) and Mad TV (1995-2016). [6]

Contents

Writing career

Thanks to several connections, Morton began working on South Park (1997-) as a production assistant in 2001, known within the studio as "the goofy guy who did all kinds of voices". As a result, co-creator Trey Parker offered him the role of Scott Tenorman in the episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die" (2002); the story saw Eric Cartman murdering Scott's parents after being scammed. [6] [7] Following other roles in the series, Morton eventually served as a writer until 2005. [8] [6]

In November 2006, the Fox Broadcasting Company announced that Morton joined the Mad TV (1995-2016) writing staff, creating animated segments for the twelfth season titled "Weekly Kid News with Toby". Written by Morton and produced by Corky Quakenbush, the shorts would cover controversial news stories from a child's perspective. [8] Following his departure from South Park, Morton created animated shorts for the internet. One of these films, Jo Jo Saves Jennifer Lopez from a Tree, earned him a writing position on Mad TV, where he conceptualized the initial idea for "Weekly Kid News with Toby". Under a four-day production time, each illustration is animated using Adobe After Effects before the narration is recorded on a computer; the footage is transported into iMovie and eventually sent to the post-production staff. These segments have garnered positive reception amongst viewers. [6]

Since 2006, Morton has developed several concepts for shows as he continues producing shorts online and working in animation for these formats; as of June 17, 2022, he now provides rewrites for production studios. [6] [4] In March 2013, with the Colorado Cancer Coalition, Morton created an animated advertisement for the Love Your Patooty campaign, encouraging citizens to get a colonoscopy. [9]

Political satires

Morton has created numerous websites satirizing and antagonizing members of the Republican Party for their standpoints concerning gun law, the legalization of transgender youth, and other political subjects; he has condemned their stances as "regressive and dangerous", due to these members' positions on said topics, while caricaturing them as white supremacists based on their views. [2] [4] [10]

Despite growing up in a "fairly political environment", Morton, a Democrat, attempted to stay out of politics during his writing career until the 2016 presidential election. He felt the election's impact on the world was "too big to ignore" while viewing the Republican Party today as a group "trying to fuck with democracy". [4] In 2019, after mocking former U.S. representative Devin Nunes (R-CA) with a satire account on Twitter, "Devin Nunes' Cow" (@DevinCow), Morton made a website parodying him, inspired by a candidate who took his opponent's domain name to redirect to his site. Morton's page garnered traction after being shared online and, since then, has created over 70 websites. [5] [4] [11] [10] Targets include Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and the Proud Boys, and representatives Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Jim Jordan. [3] [2] [5] [4] By June 2022, Morton planned to spoof Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Kyle Rittenhouse, and Mitt Romney (R-UT). [4]

Morton has received both praise and backlash for his sites; he's received donations from fans to keep them up, helping the pages grow consistently. Other have strongly disliked the content for multiple reasons, often threatening him with legal action. [17]

Targets

In May 2022, Morton formed elisestefanik2022.com, a website teasing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and her Great Replacement conspiracy theory, a view claiming that immigrants and minorities outnumber white people in the United States; she shared the idea following the 2022 Buffalo shooting, which the shooter, Payton Gendron, also cited. [12] [10] Morton had planned to publish the page the same day as the shooting but waited to do so later. [4] After sharing the page on Twitter, he direct-messaged Stefanik, replying, "You think the numbers from this tweet are impressive, just wait until I release the website traffic information from the first 24 hours". [12] The following month, Morton received an email claiming to represent Stefanik, demanding the site be taken down under a preemptive pardon given to Stefanik by Donald Trump. Morton pointed towards lacking evidence that she did this. [4]

In August 2022, Morton launched senatorronjohnson.com, [13] a site he had teased in June parodying Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). [4]

In October 2022, Morton created karilake2022.com, satirizing Kari Lake. Lake had offered Morton 150 dollars in September to get the domain, but when he refused, she blocked him on Twitter afterward. [15]

Miscellaneous

Since 2021, Morton has had conflict with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO). [2] He received a cease and desist letter from her press secretary in May after a site he had started in January mocking her. [18] Boebert confronted Morton and another individual filming a documentary centered on her the following July. Upon speculation that Boebert ordered law enforcement during the May and July incidents, Morton contacted local and state authorities by October to conduct an investigation. [2]

On November 4, 2022, following his acquisition of Twitter, CEO Elon Musk criticized activist groups that contacted advertisers to quit doing business with the company, concluding in his tweet, "They're trying to destroy free speech in America". On the same day, Morton compared the post to an image from Donald Trump's account on June 8, 2018, written the same way and promoting the same theory at the end; Twitter would add a context note stressing that the original comment from Trump was photoshopped while also adding a message on Musk's initial tweet which shared links confirming his rant. [19]

On November 6, 2022, Morton began renting vehicles for rides across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in preparation for the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election. He had been in Texas looking after his family and was encouraged to transport citizens of the state to vote after coming across people with no interest. [20]

Personal life

Originally from Evergreen, Colorado, [21] Morton spends his time between Los Angeles and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has one son. [4]

Filmography

Film

YearTitle Producer NoteRef.
TBAThe Real Lauren BoebertYesIn production [4]

Television

YearTitle Animator Artist Editor Producer Writer Other Voice role NoteRef.
2001-05 South Park NoNoNoYesYes Production assistant Scott TenormanVoiced various characters [8] [6] [9]
2006 Mad TV YesYesYesNoYesNoToby [8] [6]

Web

YearTitleOtherNoteRef.
TBAJo Jo Saves Jennifer Lopez from a TreeCreatorShort film [8]
TBABad KittyCreatorShort film; in production
2013Love Your Patooty animationCreatorAdvertisement [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Mouse</span> Disney cartoon character and mascot

Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves. He is often depicted alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his friends Donald Duck and Goofy and his nemesis Pete among others.

<i>Mad</i> (magazine) American humor magazine

Mad is an American humor magazine first published in 1952. It was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book series before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media, as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1973–1974 circulation peak.

<i>South Park</i> American animated sitcom

South Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick—and their exploits in and around the titular Colorado town. South Park also features many recurring characters. The series became infamous for its profanity and dark, surreal humor that satirizes a large range of subject matter.

<i>Homestar Runner</i> American comedy Flash-animated series

Homestar Runner is an American comedy animated web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by the titular character, Homestar Runner. It uses a blend of surreal humor, self-parody, satire, and references to popular culture, in particular video games, classic television, and popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald the Lucky Rabbit</span> Early animated Disney character

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Cartman</span> South Park character

Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to mononymously by his last name, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom South Park, created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, alongside Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick. He first appeared with the name Kenny in the short film The Spirit of Christmas (1992), and later appeared in the 1995 film of the same title before debuting in "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", the first episode of the series, on August 13, 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Stone</span> American actor, animator and filmmaker (born 1971)

Matthew Richard Stone is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating South Park and The Book of Mormon (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Intrigued by a career in entertainment at a young age, he studied film and mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met Parker. During their attendance, the two worked on various short films and starred in the feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trey Parker</span> American actor, animator, and filmmaker (born 1969)

Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating South Park and The Book of Mormon (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. Parker was interested in film and music as a child and at high school and attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met Stone. The two collaborated on various short films and co-starred in Parker’s feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).

Mad TV is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine Mad, Mad TV's pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodies of popular culture and occasionally politics. Many of its sketches featured the show's cast members playing recurring original characters and doing celebrity impressions. The series premiered on Fox on October 14, 1995, and ran for 14 seasons. Its final episode aired on May 16, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CollegeHumor</span> American Internet comedy company

CH Media, doing business as Dropout, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles which produces content for release on its streaming service, Dropout, and on YouTube. It was originally founded as the CollegeHumor website, created by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen in 1999, and was owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC) from 2006 until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the website shut down. The current CEO of CH Media is Sam Reich, a veteran performer and former Chief Creative Officer of CollegeHumor, who purchased the company in 2020 from IAC. In September 2023, the company formally dropped the CollegeHumor branding in favor of its Dropout branding, which originated with its streaming service.

"Scott Tenorman Must Die" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 69th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 11, 2001. In the episode, high schooler Scott Tenorman makes Eric Cartman believe that buying pubic hair from him will make Cartman reach puberty. Realizing that he had been tricked, an angry Cartman plots revenge on Scott.

Liane Cartman, formerly known as Carol Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated television series South Park. She is the single mother of main character Eric, who raises him in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado. Liane is considered one of the more prominent parents of all the South Park parents, as she makes many appearances throughout the series.

This is a listing of all theatrical animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1970 and the present. It also lists shorts originally planned for theatrical release and other shorts that were not feature films, television series, or television specials.

201 (<i>South Park</i>) 6th episode of the 14th season of South Park

"201" is the sixth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 201st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 21, 2010. The episode continued multiple storylines from the previous episode, "200", in which a group of angry celebrities demand South Park produce Muhammad. In "201", a superhero-like group of religious figures team up to save South Park from the celebrities and their monster Mecha-Streisand, while Eric Cartman learns the true identity of his father.

Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in the summer of 2014. The company develops and produces traditional 2D animation, motion comics, motion graphics, art assets, digital paint, illustration for television series, motion pictures, video game cinemas, commercials, advertising campaigns, educational properties, and entertainment companies.

<i>South Park: Tenormans Revenge</i> 2012 video game

South Park: Tenorman's Revenge is a platform video game based on the American animated television series South Park. Developed by Canadian studio Other Ocean Interactive, in collaboration with South Park Digital Studios and Xbox Live Productions, and published by Microsoft Studios, Tenorman's Revenge was released on March 30, 2012, on the Xbox Live Arcade service for the Xbox 360 video game console. In the game, players can control the four main characters of the show, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny, and the goal is to battle minor character Scott Tenorman and his army of gingers, as the kids travel through time.

<i>South Park</i> (franchise) American comedy franchise

South Park is an American multimedia adult animated comedy franchise created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It is based on the television series of the same name, developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central.

<i>Animaniacs</i> (2020 TV series) 2020s American animated TV series

Animaniacs is an American animated comedy musical television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Hulu. A revival of the 1993 series of the same name created by Tom Ruegger, the new series sees the return of the Warner siblings, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, and Pinky and the Brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado</span>

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the seven U.S. representatives from the state of Colorado, one from each of the state's seven congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Boebert</span> American politician (born 1986)

Lauren Opal Boebert is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 3rd congressional district since 2021. From 2013 to 2022, she owned Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where staff members were encouraged to carry firearms openly.

References

  1. ↑ Luning, Ernest (May 4, 2021). "Boebert opponents auctioning off Shooters Grill logo in response to demand to shut down parody site". Colorado Politics . Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2023. After securing the trademark in February, the group tweeted, its organizers had "mostly forgotten about it" until Toby Morton, a Colorado native and onetime contributor to the "South Park" TV show, posted an image of an email online Tuesday and asked legal experts to weigh in.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Luning, Ernest (December 2, 2021). "Boebert faces calls for federal, state investigations into abuse of authority allegations". Colorado Politics . Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Bohlen, Teague (May 5, 2021). "Boebert Watch: Intellectual Property and Some Dumb Moves". Westword . Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Goforth, Claire (June 17, 2022). "'Prepare to meet our lawyers': Comedian's satirical websites for prominent GOP lawmakers leave them seething". The Daily Dot . Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Garcia, Ariana (June 3, 2022). "'South Park' writer creates parody campaign sites mocking Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz and other GOP leaders". Chron . Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ball, Ryan (November 10, 2006). "Mad TV's Animation Mad Man". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ Rivera, Damon (November 9, 2022). "The One South Park Episode Fans Want First-Time Watchers To See". Looper . Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023. In Season 5, Episode 4, Eric Cartman (Trey Parker) gets conned by ninth-grader Scott Tenorman (Toby Morton) and decides to get even by making the kid eat his own parents, which results in one of the most pause-worthy South Park moments ever unleashed.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Baisley, Sarah (November 2, 2006). "MAD TV Gets More Animated on FOX". Animation World Network . Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Shute, Nancy (March 28, 2013). "'Love Your Butt' Ads Try To Conquer Colonoscopy Fears". NPR . Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kelly, Griffin (July 9, 2022). "Republicans not laughing at comedian Toby Morton's nearly 70 parody campaign sites". New York Post . Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Flynn, Sheila (June 22, 2022). "Satirist targets 'dark comedy' of current US politics with parody GOP websites". The Independent . Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Blanchet, Ben (May 17, 2022). "'South Park' Writer Beats Rep. Elise Stefanik To Her Own Website". HuffPost . Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Bice, Daniel; Chute, Nate (August 9, 2022). "Former 'South Park' actor launches parody Ron Johnson website, Republicans counter with Mandela Barnes link". Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ Vaughn, Jacob (August 30, 2022). "Former South Park Writer Toby Morton Gets Lots of Hate Mail over Greg Abbott Parody Website". Dallas Observer . Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Sandlin, Jennifer (October 11, 2022). "South Park writer buys domain names for MAGA and Q-loving politicians and fills them with content about the candidates' shortcomings". Boing Boing . Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ Bilderbeck, Poppy (October 12, 2022). "South Park writer is trolling MAGA and QAnon-supporting politicians with genius move". UNILAD . Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023. One of Morton's followers responded: "I think you might be my favorite person on the internet." "Toby, I don't know why I follow you, or how I stumbled upon this, but this is genius," another said. A third resolved: "You might be my new hero."
  17. ↑ [12] [4] [11] [10] [13] [14] [15] [16]
  18. ↑ Masnick, Mike (May 3, 2021). "Rep. Lauren Boebert Decides To Streisand Parody Site Making Fun Of Her, Threatens To Take Legal Action Against It". Techdirt . Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  19. ↑ Garcia, Arturo (November 4, 2022). "Were Elon Musk and Donald Trump Both Complaining About 'Activists'? - Truth or Fiction?". TruthOrFiction.com . Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  20. ↑ Vaughn, Jacob (November 8, 2022). "Former South Park Writer Toby Morton Offers Free Rides to North Texas Polls on Election Day". Dallas Observer . Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  21. ↑ Swanson, Conrad (June 15, 2022). "Lauren Boebert target of wild claims spreading despite lack of evidence". The Denver Post . Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023. Morton, who is from Evergreen, said he's not under any illusion that his websites are going to change the world, but he hopes they do encourage unaffiliated voters to go against Boebert.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.