by Comedian Theo Von has pleaded with the Department of Homeland Security to remove an unauthorised clip of him that they included in a video promoting deportations.
On September 23rd, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a 31-second video on X, captioned “Bye”, which began with an out-of-context clip of Von saying, “Heard you got deported, dude. Bye.”
In the video, the DHS boast about reportedly deporting two million illegal immigrants within the first 250 days of President Donald Trump’s second tenure in the Oval Office. It also features a clip of Trump saying, “They simply stopped coming. They’re not coming anymore.” The video concludes with the message, “Leave now.”
Taking to X, Von shared his anger at being used in the clip without permission and asked for it to be taken down, writing: “Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this. I know you know my address so send a check. And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!”
As of writing, the clip remains available to watch on the Department of Homeland Security’s X account and has been viewed more than 14 million times.
In another post, the comedian, who has two Netflix specials, wrote in response to a fan, “It’s crazy to me that they would think this is OK. What if someone attacks me tomorrow because they think I’m some final boss of deportatins or somethin”.
While Von did have Donald Trump as a guest on his podcast before the election, and even attended his inauguration, he later condemned the current administration over their involvement in Gaza, saying on an episode of This Past Weekend that the United States is “complicit” in a “genocide that’s happening while we’re alive”.
Von is not the first public figure to hit out at the US government for using them without permission on social media. In July, Jess Glynne condemned The White House for using her song, ‘Hold My Hand’, which features on a viral Jet 2 Holidays advert, in a promotional video for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation scheme.
Glynne took to Instagram Stories to condemn the video, writing, “This post honestly makes me sick. My music is about love, unity and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.”
