posted a video<\/a> featuring doctored footage from a Tkachuk brothers\u2019 news conference at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. \u201cFree Bird,\u201d the goal song for Team USA, played in the background while AI-altered footage of Brady Tkachuk was made to say, \u201cThey booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating f\u2014s a lesson.\u201d<\/p>\nThe AI-generated clip has 11.1 million views on TikTok and has gone viral on several other platforms. Tkachuk was asked about it on Thursday and voiced his displeasure with his footage being doctored and used in that matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s clearly fake, because it\u2019s not my voice, not my lips moving,\u201d Tkachuk said in his first media availability in Ottawa since the Olympics. \u201cI\u2019m not in control of any of those accounts. I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. So, I can\u2019t do anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tkachuk was asked if he enjoyed the video, and he reiterated that he, in fact, did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not my voice. It\u2019s not what I was saying,\u201d he said. \u201cI would never say that. That\u2019s not who I am, so I guess I don\u2019t like that video because that would never come out of my mouth, and never had that thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tkachuk also clarified that he did not say \u201cClose the northern border!\u201d during Team USA\u2019s congratulatory call with Trump, as some on social media had speculated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been seeing stuff that people think it\u2019s me. But if you watch the video, it\u2019s not my voice or something that I never say,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how that took a storm on its own when I give everything I have here. It\u2019s crazy when things go on social media, how fast they go. I would never say anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Trump\u2019s insensitive joke<\/a> about how he would be compelled to also invite the gold-medal-winning women\u2019s team if he invited the men\u2019s team to the White House, Tkachuk said players laughed because they were \u201ccaught off guard.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t really have an answer. It\u2019s a whirlwind of a moment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t control what somebody says. I guess got caught off guard a little bit. You\u2019re talking to the president 10 minutes after you achieve your dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Tkachuk and his teammates, they\u2019re learning a valuable lesson that so many others before them have learned about the current administration. You\u2019re useful to them until you\u2019re not.<\/p>\n
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