Animated satire South Park changes name in dig at Trump

LOS ANGELES - Animated satire South Park said on Sept 8 it was changing its name to “South America,” in an apparent dig at US President Donald Trump’s bid to rename swathes of the world.

The announcement from the Emmy Award-winning show comes after Trump’s recent efforts to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America and the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Following the order by Trump, who has also mused about changing the US state of New Mexico to New America, both Apple and Google altered the way the bodies of water are labelled for US users of their maps – something show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone took aim at.

“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,” said the show’s official X account.

The pair also took a shot at Paramount, which is now owned by David Ellison’s Skydance Corporation, despite the reported US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) deal they signed in 2025.

“We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount – a Skydance Capitulation,” the account wrote.

The show customarily known as South Park is set in small-town America and known for crude language and lampooning hot-button social issues.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, it has mercilessly poked fun at him and routinely depicts him as being in a loveless marriage with Satan, while a toady J.D. Vance plots to evict the devil from the matrimonial bed. AFP