At the height of Jonas Brothers mania in 2009, South Park took aim at the pop trio in the episode The Ring where they’re viciously beaten and threatened by a psychotic Mickey Mouse after refusing to wear their purity rings. “You have to wear the purity rings because that’s how we can sell sex to little girls,” Mickey explains to them. “If we make the posters with little girls reaching for your junk, you have to wear the purity rings or else Disney Company looks bad.”
The brothers said nothing about the episode at the time, but in a new interview on Josh Scherer’s Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), Joe Jonas revealed that he enjoyed the episode even if his brothers did not.
“I think I was the only brother that loved it,” he said. “I thought it was hilarious, because I watched South Park, and I was like, ‘This is so funny, I know what they’re doing, they make fun of everyone!’ “To be made fun of by a comic is usually a sign that they give a shit, and they care, and it’s funny. They really went for us.”
In the episode, Joe takes the brunt of the beating from Mickey Mouse after telling him they refuse to keep playing shows if they’re not allowed to remove the rings. “You don’t fuckin’ talk to me like that,” Mickey screams, after knocking him to the ground and bloodying his face. “You little piece of shit! Get the fuck up! Now, do we have a problem? Alright, now go out there and make me some godamn money! ”
“I mean, what an honor to get my ass kicked by Mickey,” Joe said on the podcast. “I think it’s one of my favorite episodes. And later on, now, we just laugh. We love that. I think it’s so great. Definitely a claim-to-fame for me.”
Sixteen years later, both South Park and the Jonas Brothers are going strong. The 27th season of the animated Comedy Central show begins on July 9. The Jo Bros, meanwhile, are kicking off a nationwide tour August 10 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They’ll be joined by the All American Rejects and Boys Like Girls. Just don’t expect to see their infamous purity rings. Despite the threats from Mickey Mouse, they took them off about a dozen years ago.