South Park co-creator's sarcastic three-word response after Donald Trump jibe

South Park co-creator Trey Parker hit back at anger from the White House over the depiction of a naked Donald Trump in bed with Satan in the animated series.

The reference featured in the first episode of the 27th series of the programme, which aired on Wednesday, following the team's £1.19bn ($1.5 billion) deal with Paramount. The White House blasted the jibe, branding South Park a "fourth-rate show... with uninspired ideas."

But today Mr Parker, who with Matt Stone created South Park in 1997, had the briefest - and iciest - response to the backlash. He said: "We're terribly sorry" and gave a long, deadpan-comic stare to camera and his fans.

Mr Parker, who also co-created The Book of Mormon, was asked for his reaction to the fracas as he sat on the stage at San Diego's Comic-Con International at the beginning of a Comedy Central animation panel. Mr Stone was also on the panel at the comic book convention, held in California every year.

READ MORE: Where you've seen the cast of Amazon Prime's Cross before from Supernatural to 90210

In the episode, Mr Trump sues the town of South Park when its residents challenge the presence of Jesus Christ – the actual person – in its elementary school. Jesus tells them they ought to settle.

Although Mr Parker and Mr Stone recently signed a five-year deal with Paramount for 50 new episodes and streaming rights to previous seasons, they used the episode on Wednesday to take aim at the company's its $16 million (£11.8 million) recent settlement with Mr Trump.

But in a statement after the season premiere aired, a spokesperson for the White House said: "This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak."

In the episode, Jesus says: "You guys saw what happened to CBS? Yeah, well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount. Do you really want to end up like Colbert?"

CBS and parent Paramount Global canceled Stephen Colbert’s "Late Show" last week, days after Colbert sharply criticised Paramount's settlement of Mr Trump’s lawsuit over a "60 Minutes" interview. CBS and Paramount executives said it was a financial decision to axe “The Late Show.”

The efficiency of South Park production, and the brinksmanship of its creators, has allowed it to stay incredibly current for an animated series, fans say.

Speaking at Comic-Con, father-of-one Mr Parker said: "I don’t know what next week’s episode is going to be. Even just three days ago, we were like, 'I don’t know if people are going to like this.'"