The
first chapter of
Trapped in the Closet was ranked by VH1 as the #41 best song of the 2000s.
Parodies and derivatives Trapped in the Closet has inspired numerous parodies and derivatives. • In July 2005, a parody titled
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. • On July 15, 2005,
Jimmy Kimmel made a parody of the song cycle, called "The Pizza", on his show
Jimmy Kimmel Live! on
ABC. This parody was aired in six installments, in July, November and December 2005. The series documents Jimmy Kimmel and his quest to have a slice of
pizza. A seventh episode was broadcast in October 2007, following the release of chapters 13 through 22 of
Trapped in the Closet. • 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 five 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 City 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 19, 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. • On the May 11, 2006, episode of
Eve, which was the episode's last before
UPN ceased operations in the cliffhanger episode, Nick (
Brian Hooks) and J.T. (
Jason George) hide in a closet, which Jamal (
Darius McCrary) opens.
Eve was also cancelled due to merger of UPN and
The WB. • In September 2006,
"Weird Al" Yankovic released "
Trapped in the Drive-Thru" for his album
Straight Outta Lynwood. • In a 2013 episode of the sketch comedy
Loiter Squad, a sketch featured a parody of
Trapped in the Closet titled "Trapped with Tyler", in which cast members
Tyler the Creator and
Jasper Dolphin, dressed as Sylvester and Bishop Craig, respectively, walk through a busy street and sing an auto-tuned parody of the song. Its lyrical content consists of mockery of other peoples' fashion sense, as well as rude insinuations about other peoples' personal lives. • A 2016 episode of
Crazy Ex Girlfriend features a parody titled "Stuck in the Bathroom". • In a sixth-season episode of the animated series
Celebrity Deathmatch, R. Kelly teams up with
Kelly Clarkson to defeat
Ludacris and
Criss Angel in a fight. At random intervals, Kelly pauses to narrate his actions during the fight in a similar manner to
Trapped in the Closet, including mention of Bridget's affair with Big Man. Clarkson eventually does similar, causing Kelly to express annoyance. • On May 23, 2016,
American Dad! aired an episode titled "
Criss-Cross Applesauce: The Ballad of Billy Jesusworth" featuring the character
Steve Smith doing a parody of
Trapped in the Closet called "Trapped in the Locker". •
Caught, the web series released by
DeStorm Power beginning in 2017, is a series of musical episodes. Power says that
Trapped in the Closet and the way the series held peoples' attention inspired the series. ==Reception==