Even President Donald Trump’s beloved manosphere has had enough of his bullshit.
After the Department of Homeland Security used comedian Theo Von in another one of its deportation videos, he made the bold move of distancing himself from the administration that has historically been otherwise friendly to him.
“Heard you got deported, dude,” the now-deleted ICE video began, showing a previously recorded video the Trump administration took out of context.
Smirking, Von said, “Bye.”
Theo Von attends President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
The video then featured quotes of Von’s clipped together with videos of immigrants being handcuffed and boarded on airplanes, bragging about the alleged number deportations.
But Von, who has previously spoken out against the inhumane nature of Trump’s deportations, had his own reaction to the post.
“Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this,” he wrote on X. “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 [sic] more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!”
Despite getting a golden ticket to Trump’s inauguration and even flying with Trump to the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, even Von recognizes the inhumane nature of Trump’s immigration approach.
Other comedians and supporters of Trump, like podcaster Joe Rogan, have called out ICE’s egregious treatment of immigrants. Similarly, this isn’t the first time DHS has been met with cease-and-desist demands.
In July, rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club demanded DHS remove a video using their recording of "God's Gonna Cut You Down."
"It's obvious that you don't respect Copyright Law and Artist Rights any more than you respect Habeas Corpus and Due Process rights. Not to mention the separation of Church and State per the US Constitution,” the band wrote on Instagram. "Oh, and go f… yourselves."
But instead of just removing the video, in which DHS claims that deporting immigrants is a calling from God, it only removed the audio from the clip.
Immigration agents transfer hundreds of Venezuelan deportees to El Salvador’s notoriously violent CECOT prison.
Later that month, Zoe Lister, the voice actor behind the viral “Jet2 Holiday” ad-turned-meme, said that she felt “sick” about the White House’s use of her voice in a deportation video. She added that she would never condone the use of the ad to boast “Trump and his abhorrent policies.”
Jay-Z had a similar issue when DHS used his 2003 song “Public Service Announcement” in an ICE recruitment campaign. Like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s video, DHS simply removed the audio on Instagram and kept the video up.
Despite this, the Trump team’s violent, dehumanizing immigration messaging has persisted— from making ASMR videos of immigrants in shackles to posting their mug shots on the White House lawn. And in an attempt to Disney-fy ICE facilities rife with abuse, the Trump administration has come up with names like “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Speedway Slammer.”
And while Trump’s more disillusioned fans may find the videos and lighthearted cover-ups amusing, this flippant approach to immigration is costing him some of his most loyal supporters.
