A voice actor from the popular video-game franchise Halo has demanded to be removed from a Trump administration video posted on social media that promotes the Iran war.
Steve Downes, who is the voice of the soldier character Master Chief from Halo, has lashed out at the White House’s post, which mixes real footage from Trump’s war in Iran with shots from violent video games.
Downes took to his X account on Sunday claiming “at least one propaganda video” that was either produced or “at the very least endorsed” by the White House uses images of Master Chief and “used my voice to support the war in Iran.”
His voice, uttering Master Chief’s trademark phrase, “I’m finishing this fight” featured in a White House video titled “Justice the American Way” which was released last Friday.
It splices real-life clips from Trump’s Iran war with footage from movies including Iron Man, Braveheart, Top Gun, Transformers and John Wick and has already angered people involved, now including Downes.
“Let me make this crystal clear,” Downes said. “I did not participate in nor was I consulted, nor do I endorse the use of my voice in this video, or the message it conveys.”
“I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war porn remove my voice immediately.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
The White House’s social media team previously used technology to morph Trump, 79, into Master Chief last October.
Director and actor Ben Stiller also slammed the White House for using a clip from his 2007 film Tropic Thunder as part of last week’s “Justice the American Way” video.
Tom Cruise’s character from Tropic Thunder, Les Grossman, features briefly in the White House video.
“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine,” Stiller, 60, wrote. “War is not a movie.”
The copyrights for Tropic Thunder are held by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Trump ally David Ellison.
The MAGA video begins with Robert Downey Jr’.s character Tony Stark in Iron Man 2 saying, “Wake up, Daddy’s home.” Downey Jr. campaigned for Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Last week, the official White House X account posted a video which morphed computer-generated footage from the 2023 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 into footage of real strikes conducted on Iran since Trump launched his war against the Middle Eastern nation
“Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue,” read the caption associated with the post.
Last week, pop star Kesha called out the White House for using her song “Blow” in a separate video she said was designed to “incite violence and threaten war.”
“Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind. Love always trumps hate,” the Grammy-nominated singer posted on X.
That prompted White House Communications Director Steven Cheung to claim the trolling was strategic.
“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this,” Cheung wrote on X. “This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about.”
Less than an hour later, Kesha responded, “Stop using my music, perverts @WhiteHouse.”
