Master Chief Actor Steve Downes Hits Out at the White House for Use of His Voice in ‘Disgusting and Juvenile' Social Media Video

Steve Downes, who plays Master Chief successful the Halo series, has demanded the White House region his dependable from a societal media video helium described arsenic “disgusting and juvenile warfare porn.”

In a video published to the authoritative White House X / Twitter account, present viewed implicit 63 cardinal times, Master Chief is seen and heard issuing his iconic line, “Finishing this fight.” But Halo is not the lone world-famous intelligence spot utilized successful the video, which was published past week amid the warfare successful the Middle East alongside the text, “Justice the American way.”

Also included are clips of Robert Downey Jr. arsenic Iron Man successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mel Gibson successful Braveheart, Tom Cruise successful Top Gun, Keanu Reeves arsenic John Wick, and galore more, each saying iconic lines of their own. The movie clips are spliced with warfare footage showing explosions.

JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/0502N6a3rL

Downes, who has expressed interest astir the unauthorized usage of his dependable successful the past, took to X / Twitter to contented a connection confirming the White House did not summation his support for this caller video, and demanding helium beryllium removed from it.

“It has travel to my attraction that determination is astatine slightest 1 propaganda video circulating that was either produced oregon astatine the precise slightest endorsed by the White House that uses images of Master Chief and uses my dependable to enactment the warfare successful Iran,” helium said.

“Let maine marque this crystal clear: I did not enactment successful nor was I consulted, nor bash I endorse the usage of my dependable successful this video, oregon the connection it conveys.

“I request that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile warfare porn region my dependable immediately.”

This is conscionable the latest illustration of the White House utilizing fashionable IP for its societal media posts. And this isn’t adjacent the archetypal clip the Trump medication has utilized Halo, owned by Microsoft, to beforehand its actions. In October, Microsoft remained soundless aft Donald Trump released an AI representation of the U.S. president arsenic Master Chief and the Department of Homeland Security utilized Halo to beforehand ICE connected societal media. IGN has asked Microsoft for remark connected this latest video.

Last week, the White House posted a video connected societal media that mixed footage from its bombing operations successful Iran with Call of Duty gameplay. IGN has asked Activision for comment, but it has yet to respond.

Also past week, The Pokémon Company issued an authoritative objection aft the White House utilized the precocious released spinoff Pokopia for a meme, pushing backmost against the Trump administration’s repeated usage of its intelligence spot connected societal media.

As pointed retired by The New York Times, Trump medication spokesperson Abigail Jackson has antecedently commented to treble down connected their societal media strategy. “Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the president’s highly fashionable agenda,” Jackson said. “There’s a crushed truthful galore radical effort to transcript our benignant — our connection resonates.”

In January, Downes said deceptive AI reproductions of his dependable “cross a enactment that gets into an country I americium uncomfortable with” — and helium called connected it to stop. “One of the things that tin beryllium overwhelming erstwhile it comes to attraction from fans is erstwhile AI gets involved,” helium said. “A batch of it is harmless I suppose, but immoderate of it cannot beryllium harmless. I've been precise vocal astir my feelings astir the usage of artificial intelligence, which connected the 1 manus is inevitable and has galore affirmative effects connected not lone amusement concern but humanity successful general, but it tin besides beryllium a detriment. It tin besides beryllium thing that deprives the histrion of his work.

“I've heard immoderate things online successful presumption of AI and the reproduction of my dependable that sounds similar my dependable that… similar I said, astir of the worldly I've seen is beauteous harmless, but it tin beryllium not that mode existent quick. So, I'm not a proponent. I don't similar it. I would similar that it not beryllium done.

“There's a batch of fan-made projects retired determination that are truly cool, that are done conscionable from the heart. But erstwhile you get to the AI portion and deceiving idiosyncratic into thinking, successful my case, that these are lines that I really spoke erstwhile they're not, that's erstwhile we transverse a enactment that gets into an country that I americium uncomfortable with. I'll spell connected the grounds with that.”

Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].