Theo Von succeeds: DHS takes down a video using an unauthorized clip of the comic
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- The Department of Homeland Security removed a deportation video featuring comedian Theo Von after he demanded payment or takedown.
- Von said the agency used his footage without permission and that his immigration views are “more nuanced” than portrayed.
- DHS has been posting meme-style deportation videos since President Trump took office, including ones with Pokemon themes and trading cards.
The Department of Homeland Security deleted a video Wednesday about deportation that featured Theo Von after the comedian asked the agency to either to pay him or take it down.
The official DHS account posted the video Tuesday on X that started off with the comedian speaking to the camera.
Jessica Chastain, who stars in Apple TV+’s ‘The Savant,’ which is about domestic terrorism, publicly challenged the streamer’s decision to halt the show’s release.
“Heard you got deported, dude,” Von said in the clip as he nods his head in disappointment. It ends with him saying “Bye” as it cuts to a montage of federal agents detaining people as it lists statistics. The video claims 2 million people have been deported in 250 days, which it breaks down to 1.6 million self-deportations and 400,000 government deportations.
Von reposted the video and responded to DHS, demanding they send him a check for capitalizing on his fame. He said he didn’t OK the agency’s use of the footage.
“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 a lot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!” he said.
Late Wednesday morning, DHS made the video disappear. Von also deleted his demands. Von and DHS did not respond immediately Wednesday to The Times’ request for comment.
The actor took to his Instagram account over the weekend to promote his latest film, “HIM,” which hit the big screen Friday, and told fans to form their own opinions on the project.
Von hosts a weekly podcast called “This Past Weekend,” where he discusses various topics and interviews guests and callers. In a June episode during the immigration raids in L.A., a caller asked him for his thoughts on the situation.
In his response, the host claimed some of the videos circulating online from the raids were not real and were staged for the purpose of content. He called the immigration system “broken” and said “there needs to be a way to create a path for citizenship for people who are productive.”
“It’s sick when you see like children crying and people being taken from their parents,” Von said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Since the Trump administration took office, DHS has been releasing meme-style videos on X that show federal agents detaining people. The latest video plays the theme song from the anime series “Pokemon” — “Gotta catch ‘em all,” the chorus says — over clips of agents detaining people. In other posts, the account shows pictures of detainees turned into Pokemon cards.
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