Trey Parker and Matt Stone on Which Celebrities Loved and Hated Their Oscar Gowns

Trey Parker and Matt Stone very intentionally did not take the Oscars seriously. When Parker was nominated for Best Original Song in 2000 for “Blame Canada” (co-written with Marc Shaiman) from their film South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, the South Park creators showed up at the ceremony in low-rent drag, wearing outfits modeled after the iconic red-carpet gowns of Jennifer Lopez (Parker) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Stone), respectively. They were also tripping on acid, as they’ve disclosed in previous interviews. But not everyone was amused by their irreverent approach to the ceremony. In a new oral history of South Park for The Hollywood Reporter, Parker and Stone revealed how other guests reacted to their schtick.

“Some people were stoked when we showed up at the Oscars in those dresses. Michael Caine being one,” said Stone. “But I remember Gloria Estefan was super-pissed.”

Estefan was at the Oscars to perform “Music of My Heart,” the Diane Warren song from the film of the same time, which was competing against “Blame Canada” for Best Song. (They both lost to Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan.) Estefan may have objected to the idea that Stone and Parker were treating the ceremony like a joke — but, according to Stone, they put a lot of thought into that joke.

“It takes a lot of energy to be that rebellious. It took so much energy to get those dresses made and all that stuff,” Stone explained. “We were so, like, punk rock — you know, like, against all of that stuff. But Trey was nominated for [a Best Original Song Oscar], and that’s cool. So how do you go, but not go? How do you not be a part of it? Drugs.”

According to Parker, their infamous red-carpet appearance could have been even weirder. “We talked about [going in] big duck outfits,” Parker told THR.