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If the "Return of Chef!" episode of South Park was perhaps seeking to incite a reaction from series deserter Isaac Hayes—either anger at his character's brutal death sequence or compunction after the tear-jerking eulogy coda—then it has failed. Hayes remains deafeningly mum on the episode, though "spokesperson" Amy Harnell has spoken with a number of media outlets, including MTV News, dismissing FoxNews.com's reports that Hayes' decision was coerced and that the singer is currently recuperating from a serious stroke:

Amy Harnell, a spokesperson for Hayes, told MTV News the Fox News report was "definitely not true" and that Hayes' decision to quit was "his and his alone." She added that Hayes was never hospitalized with a stroke, but rather "spent a few days in a hospital because of a high blood-pressure condition with medical complications." [...]

And while it's not totally clear if Chef is really dead (at the end of the episode, he's seen being resurrected, Darth-Vader style), Hayes' spokesperson wants it to be known that the musician is "100-percent" finished with "South Park."

"He's finished talking about it. Basically, his feeling is, if [Stone and Parker] felt the need to do episodes like this one, then that's fine," Harnell said. "He's done with it, and he's already turning his attention to a series of upcoming commercial projects."

Well, it may not be what we wanted to hear, but at least we can all move on knowing that Hayes, who just months ago was doing candid radio interviews defending South Park, has authorized spokesperson Amy Harnell to clear up the matters on what he is currently thinking and feeling, as opposed to, say, making the statement himself and proving that he's not a bedridden prisoner of his minders. Harnell, of course, happens to be a Scientologist—a discussion board detective and the stubbornly sticky fingerprints of Google cache established that—but there's no reason that should the thicken the fog of suspicion surrounding his departure, allowing Hayes to move on to the next phase of his career, composing decidedly funky scores for e-meter CD-ROM tutorials.