The creators of the long-running and enthusiastically insolent TV show “South Park” aren’t known to be huge fans of President Donald Trump. However, they’ve decided to adopt one of his ideas — in a way.
They’re changing — at least for the moment — the name of the popular series, which just won the Emmy for outstanding animated program.
In a statement posted on the show’s Instagram page, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone say they are “changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA.” The statement comes as Trump, escalating his trade war with Canada, has declared he’s renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States.
It coincides with changes in popular maps
The move by the two satirists, a week before the 29th season premiere of “South Park” — er, “SOUTH AMERICA” — also takes aim at Apple and Google, which have adopted Trump’s changes, as well as the show’s own parent company.
Apple has relabeled Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for U.S. users of its Maps app, following cartographic competitor Google.
“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.”
The hugely successful “South Park” airs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central. Parker and Stone have taken aim at Paramount’s merger with Skydance. But in July 2025, Paramount announced a five-year renewal deal with Parker and Stone, including streaming rights for previous “South Park” seasons on Paramount+.
During his second term, Trump has also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” even though parts of it lie in international waters. Apple and Google maps also followed suit in that case.
Also in line with Trump’s enthusiasm for renaming things — after America, or after himself — he suggested this week that New Mexico be renamed “New America,” though it was uncertain whether that was serious.
He also arranged for the Kennedy Center to add his name to its building, a move that has triggered much controversy.
The show’s creators have needled Trump before
The decision to rename the show is not the only jab Parker and Stone have recently taken at Trump.
“You finally got your Emmy,” the show posted on Instagram along with a cartoon depiction of the president — with his pants down, surrounded by the show’s characters. A recent storyline on the show depicted Trump as romantically involved with Satan.
Canada, too, has not gone unnoticed by the show. In 1999, its foray onto the big screen, “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut,” depicted Canadians as scapegoats of a national parental movement to stop children from swearing — which they blamed on comedians from Canada named “Terrance and Phillip.”
The movie was structured like a Broadway musical, and one of the key “show tunes” it presented was called “Blame Canada.” Its overall point: People can find a way to blame anyone for anything. “It seems that everything’s gone wrong since Canada came along,” one character sang.
Other targets of the show’s sharp parody over the years have been Saddam Hussein, Tom Cruise, the soft drink Prime and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.
