For years, South Park fans have debated why Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, left the show. While the official reason given was that he didn’t like its depiction of Scientology, of which he was a member, he had previously said he “understood what Matt and Trey are doing” with regards to that episode — so what gives?

Now, Hayes’ son has broken the silence about why his dad left the show, and it involves two key details: a stroke and Scientology.

Shortly after South Park’s Scientology episode aired, Hayes suffered a stroke that, according to his son, “left him unable to speak or make decisions on his own.”

“At the time, the people that were around him were largely Scientologists — his publicists and management. Those decisions about his involvement in the show, his leaving the show, were made by those people and not him,” Hayes told Cracked.

“He would have never quit that show. He loved that show, and he was making a lot of money doing that show,” Hayes added. “So, I take issue with the way those decisions were made on his behalf because it put him in a position to actually have to go on the road and tour before he was ready to tour.”

Hayes further suspects that his father’s team’s pressure to make him tour so quickly exacerbated his condition and, eventually, contributed to his eventual passing.

But for those wondering, the answer is yes, he apparently loved the “Chocolate Salty Balls” song all the way until the moment he was laid to rest.