In a sharp-witted act of political satire, a writer for the animated series South Park has purchased a domain name mocking the controversial rebranding of a Washington DC cultural institution.
Satirical Domain Targets Renamed Arts Centre
Toby Morton, a television writer and producer who has worked on the long-running comedy, secured the rights to trumpkennedycenter.org in August 2024. He told the New York Times he acted after predicting President Donald Trump would change the venue's name following his installation as chair and the stacking of its board with loyalists.
The move comes as the actual John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been officially rebranded the 'Trump Kennedy Center', though its web address remains kennedy-center.org. This renaming has sparked significant turbulence, leading several performers to cancel scheduled concerts in protest. The legality of the name change is itself being challenged in the courts.
‘Blunt Reflections’ of Political Power
Morton explained that for the past five years, he has been acquiring domains tied to politicians and authoritarian figures, transforming them into "blunt, often uncomfortable reflections of what they actually represent."
"I’ve been doing this kind of work for years now, building sites that mirror and expose political power by using its own language against it," he added.
Visitors to his site will not find a schedule of classical music or ballet. Instead, they are greeted by an announcement for a New Year performance by the ominously named ‘Epstein dancers’. The site proclaims it exists "to preserve what must endure, to honor what must not be questioned, and to gather those who understand that greatness is not chosen, it is recognised."
Comedy as a Counter to Political Lunacy
Morton is not alone in using humour to critique the situation. A group of British satirists acquired a similar domain, trump-kennedycenter.org, around the same time. Their site advertises "Saucy Jeff – a Rock’n’Roll Musical," a deranged adaptation featuring Jeffrey Epstein as the protagonist, set on Little Saint James.
This trend underscores how comedy has often proven a potent counter to political excess. South Park, which once focused its satire on 'woke' culture, has shifted firmly to parodying Trump during his second term. Recent episodes have featured the former president expecting a baby with a cartoon Satan.
Co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker noted last year that the Trump administration had become inescapable, with politics morphing into pop culture. Morton views the Kennedy Center renaming as a form of "performance art," highlighting the irony of a figure who has "openly mocked artists" now positioning himself as their steward.
The satirical domain purchases and the ongoing legal and artistic protests signal a continuing cultural battle over the legacy and stewardship of one of America's premier performing arts venues.
