Steve Downes, best known in the gaming world for voicing longtime Halo protagonist Master Chief, has voiced his displeasure over the White House’s use of his voice as part of a series of pro-Iran war social media clips.
Speaking on X, Downes said he “did not participate in” the creation of the video, nor was he consulted. He says he does not “endorse the use of [his] voice in this video, or the message it conveys”. It’s hard to get clearer than that.
In closing, Downes attacks the “producers” who made the video, demanding the removal of his voice from what he calls “disgusting and juvenile war porn”. I doubt the White House will accede to his demand, but at least he’s made himself known in no uncertain terms.
I’m not going to post the video in question here, just because I think it’s pretty disgusting and I don’t want to give it any further oxygen, but it features clips from Downes’ work in Halo, alongside other action heroes like Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
Funnily enough, Downey Jr. is also an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, having endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in 2024’s US election. Either the White House doesn’t know many of those featured in its clip aren’t exactly its best friend, or it doesn’t care.
My money’s on the latter; after all, this isn’t the first time this administration has used video games to communicate a political message. Let us not forget September’s bizarre Pokemon-themed ICE video, for instance (for which no permission from Nintendo was sought, incidentally).
Again, I don’t think for a second the White House will remove Downes’ voice from their montage; it’s likely this kind of reaction will only stoke the flames, sadly. Still, respect to Downes for getting out ahead of this. Stay tuned for more.
