The creators of the animated series "South Park" are changing the show's name to "SOUTH AMERICA" as a satirical jab at President Donald Trump's practice of renaming geographic locations.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show's creators, announced the temporary name change in a statement on the "South Park" Instagram page. The move is a direct response to Trump's recent actions, including declaring that he was renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" in the United States as part of an escalating trade dispute with Canada.
"Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA," the statement read. The creators also thanked Apple and Google for adopting Trump's changes in their respective map applications, which relabeled Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for U.S. users. The creators also specifically thanked Paramount, the show's parent company, referring to a "Skydance Capitulation," referencing Paramount's merger with Skydance.
This is not the first time "South Park" has addressed Trump's renaming initiatives. During his second term, Trump also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," despite portions of it lying in international waters. Apple and Google maps also followed suit in that instance.
The creators have taken other recent jabs at the president. The show's Instagram page posted an image depicting Trump with his pants down, surrounded by "South Park" characters, with the caption "You finally got your Emmy." The Emmy for outstanding animated program was recently awarded to "South Park."
A recent storyline on the show depicted Trump as romantically involved with Satan. The show's 1999 film, "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut," also satirized Canada, portraying Canadians as scapegoats for a national parental movement aimed at curbing children's exposure to offensive language, a movement that blamed Canadian comedians "Terrance and Phillip."