'South America': South Park Delivers Savage Trump Takedown With Bizarre Name Change Days After Winning Emmy

South Park has temporarily rebranded itself as 'South America' in a pointed jab at Donald Trump's reported drive to slap 'America' on US place names, just days after the long-running animated series picked up its fifth Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.

Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced the apparent name change on the show's official social media accounts on Tuesday, 8 September, ahead of the 29th season's premiere on Comedy Central next Wednesday, 16 September.

In a mock heroic statement, they said they were 'inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google' in renaming the show, and thanked parent company Paramount, which they dubbed 'a Skydance Capitulation', a reference to last year's merger between Skydance Media and Paramount Global.

South Park Turns 'South America' in Maps Gag

The gag riffs on Trump's supposed efforts to rename major geographical features.

In August, Trump reportedly signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' amid a trade dispute with Canada. Apple and Google subsequently updated their map apps, having already relabelled the Gulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America' earlier in his term.

South Park's new season poster carries the joke further, showing the town's familiar road sign, now with an 'AMERICA' sticker pasted over it. The name change is being introduced ahead of the show's 29th-season premiere on 16 September, although the programme may still appear under its original branding on streaming platforms.

Emmy Win Fuels South Park's Trump Satire

The rename follows South Park's Emmy win on Sunday, 6 September, for Outstanding Animated Program, its first win in the category since 2013. The award went to the season 27 opener 'Sermon On The 'Mount'', which depicted a digitally altered Trump in bed with Satan.

To mark the win, the show's account posted an image of its Trump caricature clutching an Emmy statuette with the caption 'You finally got your Emmy', a nod to Trump's past complaints that his reality series The Apprentice had failed to win an Emmy despite being nominated.

The Trump-Satan storyline dominated the show's most recent run, alongside satirical portrayals of his inner circle.

The White House previously dismissed the series, telling USA Today last year that it was 'hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas'. The show's account hit back after the Department of Homeland Security used a still from a parody episode in its own recruitment material, posting: 'Wait, so we ARE relevant?'

Parker and Stone: 'We're Not Going To Stop' Trump Satire

Parker has indicated the satire is far from over. Speaking at an Emmy campaign event in Los Angeles in May, he recalled that critics urging the pair to move on from Trump only encouraged them further. 'We're not going to stop,' he said. 'We're going to do it every single week.'

Whether the new season will continue to centre heavily on Trump remains to be seen, but South Park's track record suggests it will follow its creators regardless. South Park has spent nearly three decades building its reputation by tackling subjects other shows avoid, and this latest stunt, name change or not, suggests that approach is set to continue.