"A Scause for Applause" is the thirteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated sitcom South Park, and the 236th episode of the series overall. It will premiere on Comedy Central in the United States on October 31, 2012.
Plot
The town of South Park is rocked by the recent news of performance enhancement drug use by Jesus to perform his miracles, having their What Would Jesus Do? bracelets cut off. However, only Stan refuses to take off his bracelet which in turn inspires others with Stan becoming a household name and follow the philosophy to "STAND YOUR GROUND". Eventually, Stan is confronted by a french scientist and officials who learned from a reliable source, Craig, that he did removed his bracelet and glued it back together. Though he defended himself, Stan is exposed as a liar yet refuses to accept responsibility. While going to the french scientist's house to get revenge by discrediting him, Stan finds Jesus doing the same thing before both are caught. After having a conversation with each other, neither refusing to admit their personal faults, Jesus and Stan decide to make a bracelet to raise awareness for the Belarusian farmers who started the whole STANd YOUR GROUND craze. Jesus and Stan take their venture to a Ounce-ler-like character who runs the PF Pity F factory that makes bracelets, or "Scauses" as he calls them, before making orange Belarusian farmer support bracelets and delivering the finished bracelets to South Park with everyone buying into the craze.
However, when he goes to Belarus to help the Belarusian farmers, he finds them slaughtered while in the middle of his interview. When the Scause seller buys the residents out of their money, he leaves South Park to take his business elsewhere. Stan and Jesus, feeling duped, try to think of ways to get back at PF Pity F. When Stan questions "What would Jesus do?" when they are out of ideas, Jesus takes HGH before hulking out and destroying the factory. Soon after, still denying his drug use, Jesus returns to South Park and tells everybody that t-shirts where always better than bracelets to speak their minds, which everybody agrees to.[1]
Cultural References
The W.W.J.D. bracelet resembles a Livestrong wristband. The characterization of Jesus as having taken performance enhancing drugs is a reference to Lance Armstrong, whose foundation developed the Livestrong wristband in collaboration with Nike to raise money for cancer research.
At the end of the episode, Jesus reveals a "Free Pussy Riot t-shirt. This is a reference to the Russian punk-rock band Pussy Riot, three of whom were arrested and convicted on charges of hooliganism after an unannounced protest performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
