US ice hockey star Brady Tkachuk has publicly disputed the authenticity of an AI-generated video released by the White House depicting him making disparaging remarks about Canada, following the US men’s Olympic victory on Sunday. The video, posted to the White House’s TikTok account, features a digitally altered Tkachuk stating, “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating fuckers a lesson.”
Tkachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators, emphatically denied ever making the statement. “Well, it’s clearly fake, due to the fact that it’s not my voice, not my lips moving,” he said Thursday. “I’m not in control of any of those accounts. I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. So, I can’t do anything about it.” The video has garnered over 10 million views and was labelled as AI-generated.
The controversy comes as Tkachuk plays professionally in Canada’s capital city, adding a layer of sensitivity to the situation. “It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying,” Tkachuk reiterated. “I would never say that. That’s not who I am, so I guess I don’t like that video because that would never come out of my mouth and never had that thought.”
Further complicating matters, reports surfaced following the US team’s win that Tkachuk may have shouted “Close the northern border” during a congratulatory phone call with former President Donald Trump. Tkachuk also denied these claims on Thursday, stating, “I’ve been seeing stuff that people think it’s me. But if you watch the video, it’s not my voice or something that I never say. I don’t know how that took a storm on its own when I give everything I have here. It’s crazy when things head on social media, how fast they go. I would never say anything like that.”
During the same phone call, Trump reportedly made a joke at the expense of the US women’s hockey team, inviting the men’s players to the White House while suggesting he would be “impeached” if he failed to do the same for the women. Some players reportedly laughed at the remark. US women’s team captain Hilary Knight subsequently described the joke as “distasteful.” Tkachuk acknowledged the potential for offense, saying, “I mean, I get it. We support them, they support us. You can’t control what other people say. It was fun being around them, seeing how they play and the excellence around them. If I notice one of them, we’ll talk about the excitement of what we can control, which is to be gold medalists.”
Tkachuk suggested the laughter from his teammates during the call may have been a reaction to the unexpected nature of Trump’s comment. “You’re talking to the President 10 minutes after you achieve your dream,” he explained.
Tkachuk was among the 20 US men’s players who visited the White House after their victory and also attended Tuesday’s State of the Union address. The US women’s team declined the White House invitation, citing scheduling conflicts and travel issues. Tkachuk described the visit as “special,” stating, “Being an American citizen, you never really think you’re going to see the White House and be in the Oval Office.”
While the women’s team has not confirmed a visit to the White House following Trump’s mention of potential plans in his State of the Union address, they have accepted an invitation from rapper Flavor Flav to attend a celebratory event in Las Vegas. The team accepted the invitation without consulting USA Hockey, according to the Associated Press, and the extent of player participation remains unclear.
