Comedian and podcaster Theo Von, once a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has stepped into the national spotlight for a very different reason: his image was used without permission in a U.S. government deportation video, sparking a wave of fear, legal action, and a broader conversation about the ethics of political propaganda.
It all began in September 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a video promoting the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies. The video, which quickly went viral, featured a clip of Von saying, “Heard you got deported, dude. Bye.” The snippet, presented as if Von was endorsing the policy, was in fact taken out of context from a conversation he’d had roughly a year and a half earlier. At the time, Von had been approached by someone who said their friend was being deported and asked if he had a message for them. “I didn’t know if it was real or not,” Von explained later. “I was just joking around.”
The government’s use of the clip—and its slick, almost celebratory editing style—caught Von off guard. In a November 2025 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Von recounted the moment he realized what had happened. “Yeah dude, they made me the video thing. You see that thing where they put me on the video,” he told Rogan, his voice tinged with disbelief. Rogan, himself a former Trump supporter who has since distanced himself from the administration, was equally shocked. “I just can’t believe they did that with you, where they just put it in there as if, like, you were endorsing that,” Rogan said. “That’s not how you envision the government. The government made a hype video?”
Von’s anxiety only grew after the video’s release. The timing was especially fraught: just days earlier, conservative influencer Charlie Kirk had been assassinated. “And so then I was like, super scared. You remember? Remember I was ... texting people to make sure everybody’s OK,” Von told Rogan. “I didn’t know if they were, like, just gonna kill people that had been on TikTok or whatever. I had no idea what they were gonna do.”
Von’s fears weren’t unfounded. He received threats online and became reclusive, rarely leaving his home. The stress weighed heavily on him, even prompting an emotional conversation with his mother. “I was with my mom after the DHS video was posted and just felt like nothing was safe,” Von shared, revealing the depth of his paranoia. The situation escalated to the point where a high-ranking government official reached out to offer protection. “I woke up the next morning to a text from a high government official saying, ‘Hey, if you need some extra security in your neighborhood or some extra police cars on patrol, let me know,’” Von recalled. “And I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about? Extra security?’”
Desperate to regain control of the narrative, Von hired attorneys to pursue the removal of the video. But the damage was done. “Within 48 hours, the post had amassed millions of views,” he lamented. The viral nature of the video only deepened his sense of vulnerability and frustration. Rogan, echoing the sentiment of many, remarked, “If a company did that, you could sue them.”
Von’s ordeal is not unique among celebrities and artists. In recent months, several high-profile figures have spoken out against the Trump administration’s unauthorized use of their likeness or work in political messaging. Singer Olivia Rodrigo was particularly blunt when her music was used in an anti-immigration video: “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” she wrote. Bands like MGMT and rapper Jay-Z have made similar demands, highlighting a growing backlash against what many see as the co-opting of pop culture to lend credibility to controversial policies.
The controversy comes amid mounting criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. According to multiple news outlets, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have ramped up operations in major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, targeting not only undocumented immigrants but also vulnerable populations—pregnant women, grandparents, and even American citizens caught up in the sweeps. “You got ICE raids, where they, you know, they’re taking people that are American citizens, and they’re scaring the shit out of everybody,” Rogan said during his conversation with Von.
For Von, the experience has been a harsh lesson in the power—and peril—of digital media. The government’s use of his words, stripped of context and repackaged as propaganda, left him feeling exposed and misrepresented. “They were making, like, deportation hype videos with trap beats and shit and I was like, ‘What are we doing?’ That’s what I’m saying, everything is turned into, like, the WWE, none of it’s real,” Von told Rogan. The comedian’s frustration was palpable, a mix of disbelief and exasperation at how quickly reality can be distorted in the age of viral videos and social media spin.
Despite his initial support for Trump, Von’s experience has led him to break ranks with the administration. In September, shortly after the video’s release, he publicly distanced himself from the president and his policies. “It was just a scary time,” Von admitted, underscoring the personal toll of being thrust into a national controversy. His story has become a rallying point for critics of the administration’s approach to both immigration and political messaging.
The episode also raises broader questions about the ethics of government propaganda and the rights of individuals whose images or words are used without consent. As Rogan pointed out, the standards that apply to corporations—where unauthorized use can lead to lawsuits—often don’t constrain political actors. This legal gray area leaves public figures vulnerable to misrepresentation, manipulation, and, in some cases, real danger.
Public sentiment appears to be shifting. As more details emerge about the administration’s deportation tactics and the personal stories of those affected, support for these policies is waning. The backlash from celebrities and everyday citizens alike signals a growing discomfort with the use of entertainment and celebrity culture to legitimize contentious government actions.
For now, Theo Von remains wary, his trust in the system shaken. His experience stands as a cautionary tale about the intersection of fame, politics, and propaganda—a reminder that in today’s hyperconnected world, anyone’s words can be weaponized in the blink of an eye.
