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Team USA’s Brady Tkachuk criticizes White House for sharing AI-generated video in which he insults Canadians
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“It’s obviously fake because it’s not my voice and it’s not my lips moving,” he told The Associated Press
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Tkachuk also denied that Trump yelled “close the northern border” during a locker-room call to the U.S. men’s hockey team
Team USA’s Brady Tkachuk is speaking out about an AI-generated video shared by the White House that shows him insulting Canadians.
Tkachuk, 26, and the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to capture the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, February 22.
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The White House later shared a clip on TikTok that included fake audio that falsely showed Tkachuk appearing to refer to Canadians as “maple syrup eating assholes.”
The White House captioned the video: “The silver glow isn’t so bright 🥇🦅,” with the note, “Contains artificial intelligence generated media.”
It’s also clear in the video that the athlete’s mouth doesn’t match the audio, something Tkachuk pointed out in an interview with The Associated Press about the footage.
Brady Tkachuk at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Image source: EyesWideOpen/Getty
“It’s obviously fake because it’s not my voice and it’s not my lips moving,” he told the news organization. “I have no control over any of these accounts. … I know these words will never come out of my mouth.”
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“I would never say that. That’s not who I am,” added Tkachuk, who plays in Canada for the Ottawa Senators.
The White House did not immediately respond when People contacted it for comment.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Tkachuk also denied that he was the voice who shouted “close the northern border” during a phone call with Donald Trump in the hockey team’s locker room after Sunday’s win.
“I’ve seen something that people thought was me, but if you watch the video, it’s not my voice and it’s something I never said,” Tkachuk told the outlet. “I really don’t know how it feels like it’s a firestorm when I’m here playing football and giving everything I’ve got.”
Brady Tkachuk vs. Canada at 2026 Winter Olympics
Photo credit: Jean Catuffe/Getty
During the locker room call, the U.S. men’s hockey team accepted Trump’s personal invitation to travel to the White House to celebrate their gold medal win.
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These athletes ended up being guests of honor at Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 24th.
Trump, 79, paid tribute to the men’s team, calling the athletes “a group of winners who make our country proud” and led politicians and guests at the U.S. Capitol in chants of “USA.”
Trump later said the U.S. women’s hockey team, which declined to attend the State of the Union address, would soon visit the White House to celebrate their Olympic gold medal.
People magazine previously reported that Trump laughed during a phone call with the men’s team’s locker room. “You do know this. I do believe I could be impeached [if the women’s team wasn’t invited]”.
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Jack Hughes, a member of the U.S. men’s team, scored the “golden goal” to win the team their first Olympic gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice. daily mail Team ‘excited’ about meeting Trump.
“Everything is so political. We are athletes. We are proud to represent the United States, we have the opportunity to go to the White House, meet with the president. You know, we are proud to be Americans,” he told the outlet. “Whatever your opinion, we’re very excited to go.”
Brady Tkachuk plays for the Ottawa Senators
Photo credit: Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty
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Reporters then asked Hughes how he felt about not traveling to the White House after the U.S. women’s hockey team won the gold medal 2-1 against Canada three days earlier on Thursday, February 19.
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“They also have busy schedules,” he responded, echoing a statement previously shared by a USA Hockey spokesperson who cited “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Olympics” as the reason for the women declining the invitation.
Read the original article on People
