Hayes leaves "South Park".

“South Park� is going to have to say goodbye to one of its most beloved characters, Chef, voiced by soul legend Isaac Hayes. Hayes had been a “South Park� cast member since the show’s start in 1997. He announced Monday that his decision to leave the ground-breaking animated series had to do with its coverage of “religious beliefs.� Hayes is a Scientologist.

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins. Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices," Hayes said in a statement.

Comedy Central spokesman, Tony Fox addressed Hayes’s request that the network let him out of his contract. "Obviously, Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker - the show’s creators] are disappointed that he's not going to be part of the show, but they're not going to make him do something he doesn't want to do,� he said.

In an interview about Hayes’s departure, Stone wasn’t quite so diplomatic. He told the Associated Press, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem - and he's cashed plenty of checks - with our show making fun of Christians. [We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."