Trapped in The Closet - Parodies and Derivatives

Parodies and Derivatives

The uniqueness of "Trapped in the Closet" has inspired numerous parodies and derivatives.

• In July, 2005, a parody entitled "Harry Potter: Trapped In The Closet Under The Stairs" was aired in five parts (each part for the first 5 Harry Potter books) on Q100 radio based in Atlanta, Georgia. (Harry Potter: Trapped In The Closet Under The Stairs; RealPlayer is required)
• On July 15, 2005, Jimmy Kimmel made a parody of the single, called "The Pizza" on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. This parody was aired in six installments, one week at a time. The series documents Jimmy Kimmel and his quest to have a slice of pizza.
• In August, 2005, website Something Awful released a CliffsNotes style analysis of the first five chapters.
• In August, 2005, website No Film School released Out of the Closet, a guerrilla remix of the first 5 chapters. "Out of the Closet" tells a completely different story than "Trapped in the Closet"—all using R. Kelly's own words and original vocals, as well as parts of a Dave Chappelle parody.
• In September 2005, Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell, and Duane Martin performed a live parody at the BET Comedy Awards.
• On October 2, 2005, MADtv aired a parody called "Trapped in the Cupboard," featuring R. Kelly (spoofed by Jordan Peele) and his wife battling over breakfast cereal.
• Computer Games Magazine reports of a group who has recreated the first five chapters using The Sims 2 animation engine.
• On November 9, 2005, website Something Awful released a CliffsNotes style analysis of the next seven chapters.
• On November 11, 2005, Eric Appel hosted a panel discussion about the song and video at the New York chapter of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. The panel featured Aziz Ansari, Anthony King, Brian Berrebbi, Eugene Mirman, Rob Huebel, and Brett Gelman.
• On November 16, 2005, a South Park episode named "Trapped in the Closet" aired. The plot proceeds around Stan being thought of as the second coming of L. Ron Hubbard by Scientologists and Tom Cruise locking himself in Stan's closet. As the incident receives news coverage, Kelly appears and sings about the situation, and is eventually used to coax Cruise out of the closet before going inside it himself.
• On November 18, 2005, a Saturday Night Live episode parodied the song, featuring Kelly fighting with his wife who turns out to be seeing an alien who also turns out to be Kelly's father.
• In January 2006, Aziz Ansari and Paul Scheer took Eric Appel's panel show to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. Special guest panelists have included Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Paul F. Tompkins, Drevon Cooks ("Big Man") and others. Since then, it has been performed regularly at the UCB Theatre on both coasts.
• During the spring of 2006, The episode of Eve which was the episode's last before UPN ceased operations in the cliffhanger episode where Nick (Brian Hooks) and J.T. (Jason George) hides in closet in which Jamal (Darius McCrary) opens the closet.
• In September 2006, Weird Al Yankovic released "Trapped In The Drive-Thru". Taking the same set-up as R. Kelly's version, the song is divided into various chapters.