Joe Rogan Slams DHS for Using Theo Von in Deportation Promo Without Consent: 'Not How You Envision the Government'

Joe Rogan criticized the Department of Homeland Security this week after comedian Theo Von said DHS used his voice in a deportation-themed video without permission. The remarks took place during the most recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, where Rogan also questioned the broader tactics involved in the administration's immigration crackdown.

Rogan referenced ongoing raids and said, "You got ICE raids where they're taking people who are American citizens and they're scaring the s--- out of everybody." Von then described the DHS video posted earlier this year that featured an old clip of him joking about deportations. "It was crazy," Rogan said. "They didn't even ask you."

Von said the video alarmed him because it appeared online shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. "It was really scary for me," he said. The clip, later removed, showed Von saying, "Heard you got deported, dude, bye," before shifting to scenes of deportations and statistics, according to USA Today. Rogan told him, "I just can't believe they did that with you, like you were endorsing that," and asked, "Who greenlit that?"

Von said he hired an attorney, and the video was taken down within 48 hours after accumulating roughly 30 million views. He recalled receiving threats and said he became "paranoid." When he responded on X in September, he wrote, "I didn't approve to be used in this... please keep me out of your 'banger' deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are a lot more nuanced than this video allows."

This incident drew scrutiny again when DHS posted the video on September 23, pairing Von's voice with claims that the administration had deported two million people in 250 days. Von reposted it, saying the government should "send a check" if it planned to use his likeness.

Rogan said his own reaction to the DHS montage was: "Oh my god, what the f--- are they doing? It's like, that's not how you envision the government."

Rogan has been increasingly questioning elements of the administration's immigration strategy in the last few months. In October he said he "never anticipated" seeing certain techniques used by DHS, explaining he believed enforcement would focus on criminals:

"No one with a heart is going to go along with that. And I did not ever anticipate seeing that on TV on a regular basis. I really thought they were just going to go after the criminals. I really thought there was enough gang members and enough people, MS-13 members and whatever they were looking for, that they would just go after those guys"