Pokémon has responded to US Homeland Security's controversial video on X.
People have already been ripping into the US government's social media accounts under the second Trump administration. But one recent post from US Homeland Security has social media 'begging' for Nintendo to get their lawyers involved.
If you were on X this week, you might have come across a video posted by the Department of Homeland Security featuring the Pokémon anime theme song.
The clip included random cuts from the show and created mock-up trading cards of individuals who had been arrested.
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ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been conducting raids across the US as part of Trump's immigration policy to deliver what he calls the 'largest deportation program of criminals in American history.'
The recent video, which showed up on both Homeland Security's X account and the White House's TikTok, displays multiple arrests by border patrol and ICE agents while using Pokémon's iconic 'Gotta catch 'em all' slogan.
Now Pokémon has finally broken its silence with a statement on X.
“We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand," they shared. "Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
The video also features footage from the opening credits of Pokémon's anime TV show, including scenes of the main character, Ash Ketchum. The Pokémon Company did not share any further information and haven't confirmed whether they are pursuing legal action.
Meanwhile, the comments section has been a mix of unsurprised and some users hoping Pokémon sues.
"Man, this is wild. I can’t believe the Department of Homeland Security actually thought it was a good idea to slap Pokémon branding on an ICE arrest video," one user wrote.
"Sue them for all they got," another user argued.
"I believe in you, Nintendo! Sue them!!"" exclaimed a third user.
A fourth user who didn't seem shocked at Homeland Security's action stated: "What a surprise, who would've guessed that they didn't get permission to like every other time something like this happens".
The Department of Homeland Security is also getting hammered for using copyrighted stuff without permission from other content creators.
Just yesterday, comedian Theo Von called them out on Twitter claiming they ripped a clip from his podcast, took it out of context, and put it in a DHS deportation video. The podcaster demanded they take it down, and sure enough, the DHS tweet got deleted.