To Catch A Predator in Popular Culture

Since the show's inception, *To Catch a Predator* has become a staple of popular culture, being referenced or parodied in numerous works.

## MADtv

In a Season 13 sketch, a fictionalized Chris Hansen confronts and fails to intimidate an unabashedly shameless predator. Chris and the predator are played by Michael McDonald and Jordan Peele, respectively.

## South Park

In the Season 11 episode "Le Petit Tourette", Cartman links up with Chris Hansen to do a feature on his fake Tourette's syndrome. Cartman agrees to interview with the intention of spouting hate speech on air, but once he realizes that he's lost the ability to censor himself after keeping the shtick going for so long he attempts to back out. However Chris intimidates Cartman into going ahead with it by recounting an incident where a predator backed out of the To Catch a Predator series by shooting himself, but insinuates that the man was murdered and that the same could happen to Cartman. Meanwhile, Kyle teams up with Thomas to sabotage the broadcast by soliciting predators into the studio, under the impression that it's Thomas's house.

Many of the predators that arrive resemble the real predators that appeared in the show, such as Donald Morrison, Gerald White, and Steven Bennof.

The predators all shoot themselves upon recognizing Chris onstage, prompting the audience to flee and panic. Chris's intimidation tactic is a reference to a real life incident where Louis Conradt shot himself before police could apprehend him in the Murphy, Texas investigation.

Chris Hansen later makes a cameo in the season 12 episode "Britney's New Look", spectating a terrible live performance by Britney Spears.

## It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

At the end of the season 3 episode "Mac Is a Serial Killer", Dee, Dennis and Frank call Mac up and pose as "Sandy" a young woman who wants to hook up with him. They turn Gary's apartment into a sting operation to catch and confront Mac. When Mac enters the apartment with wine coolers and no condoms, he encounters Dennis, who is dressed similarly to Chris Hansen. After the confrontation Dee and Frank come out and reveal themselves with a camera and a chainsaw, respectively.

## The Boondocks

The Season 3 episode "A Date With the Booty Warrior" begins with an unaired episode of *To Catch a Predator* that features a shocking twist: Chris confronts a predator and antagonist of the episode named Fleece Johnson. He is nicknamed “The Booty Warrior”, an animated representation of a real life felon featured in a prison documentary called *Lock Up* where he revealed that he committed many rapes in prison. Johnson reveals his true reason for walking into the sting in that he is lusting after Chris Hansen rather than underage children. Johnson then gives Hansen the choice of “the easy way (consentual) or the hard way (rape)” in what would happen next. Hansen tries to extricate himself from the situation when Johnson proceeded to bend Hansen over the bar and presumably rape him, since it cuts away with Hansen screaming and Johnson yelling, “Don’t make me ruin that butt, Chris! I’m a warrior!”.

## Family Guy

In the episode "Valentine's Day in Quahog", a scene features Herbert (a pedophile) watching his favorite TV show, *To Catch a Predator Who's Proud of Being a Predator*, which features Chris confronting a predator with the question "do you know the boy you're coming here to meet tonight is only 13 years old?" To which the predator responds sarcastically, "No, I drove 900 fucking miles for a 14 year old".

## Arrested Development

Multiple episodes feature a show hosted by John Beard entitled *To Entrap a Local Predator: Orange County Edition: Super Creeps,* an obvious spoof of TCaP.

## Fameless

In a season one episode of the hidden camera prank show, an innocent victim is pranked into thinking he has been mistaken for an online predator by being catfished and confronted by Chris Hansen himself. The prank is faithfully recreation of a typical TCaP sting operation, taking place in a sting house similar to those seen in the series and featuring series staples such as a large camera crew revealing themselves and Chris grilling the victim with his printed chat logs.

## References in music

To Catch a Predator and Chris Hansen have been referenced in numerous songs, including "F.I.F.A." by Pusha T, "Life Should Go On" by Big Sean, "Poppin" by KSI, "Blue Chips" by Action Bronson, "You Just Wanna Stay" by Kali Uchis, "BBQ Sauce" by Sean Price, and "Hammer Dance" by Slaughterhouse.

Notably, Insane Clown Posse's 11th studio album *Bang! Pow! Boom!* features a track entitled "To Catch a Predator", told from the perspective of a killer who lures child predators to his home by pretending to be an underage girl online, then proceeding to torture and kill them.