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White House Defends Wii Sports–Laced Iran Strike Videos as Rights Holders Object

Rights holders have disavowed the mashups, with no lawsuits over the posts to date.

Overview

  • On March 12, the official account posted a 52‑second “Epic Fury” clip that intercut Wii Sports bowling, golf and archery visuals with footage of strikes in Iran, captioned “UNDEFEATED.”
  • Earlier posts spliced Yu‑Gi‑Oh!, Grand Theft Auto and film clips including Top Gun and Tropic Thunder into wartime montages, prompting Ben Stiller to ask the White House to remove the Tropic Thunder snippet.
  • Rights holders including Yu‑Gi‑Oh! and The Pokémon Company said they did not grant permission for the use of their IP, and observers note potential fair‑use defenses as well as trademark and dilution risks.
  • White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the videos highlight U.S. military successes and signaled the administration will continue posting similar content.
  • Criticism has intensified, fueled by Trump’s “just for fun” remark in an NBC interview and a preliminary Pentagon finding that a U.S. missile strike hit an Iranian girls’ school, killing many children.