Yu-Gi-Oh was one of many properties from the worlds of movies, games, and anime that the White House used in a gross video to drum up hype for the United States and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran last month. Dan Green, the voice of Yami Yugi in the original anime series, released a statement condemning its use of his character and voice, calling the video “disrespectful” to the memory of Yu-Gi-Oh series creator Kazuki Takahashi. Now, the Yu-Gi-Oh brand has put out its own statement making sure everyone knows the card game series wasn’t involved.
米国ホワイトハウスの公式Xアカウントにおいて、
アニメ「遊☆戯☆王」シリーズの映像が、権利者の許諾なく使用されている投稿が確認されました。
本件については、原作およびアニメ関係者は一切関与しておらず、当該知的財産の使用を許諾した事実もございません。It has come to our attention that…
— アニメ「遊☆戯☆王」公式 (@yugioh_anime) March 11, 2026
It has come to our attention that a post on the White House’s official X account used footage from the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. This was made without any authorization from the rights holder. Regarding this matter, no one associated with the manga or anime had any involvement, and no permission was granted for the use of this intellectual property.
The video is one of many examples of the Trump administration using memes and pop culture iconography to promote its fascist regime, but while IP owners are getting more comfortable saying they’re not affiliated with it, not enough of them are actively disavowing them for my liking. Every time this happens fans call for a lawsuit, but not even the notoriously litigious Pokémon Company has done that yet, and the White House socials have used its music and imagery more than once. But hey, at least Nintendo’s bringing out the lawyers for the tariffs?