‘Kingsman’ Massacre Scene Edited for Trump Event to Show President Killing Media
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A controversial church massacre scene included in Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 action film “Kingsman: The Secret Service” has been coopted by Donald Trump supporters and edited to depict the U.S. president killing news organizations and political opponents. As reported by The New York Times, the remixed “Kingsman” scene was shown at a Miami conference for Trump supporters. The event was held at the Trump National Doral Miami and organized by the group American Priority.
The scene from “Kingsman” features Colin Firth’s character Harry Hart entering a hate group’s church in Kentucky (modeled after the Westboro Baptist Church) and violently murdering its members. Harry is brainwashed during the scene and is not willingly killing people. The re-edited video puts Trump’s face on Firth’s body. The victims faces have been replaced with either the logos of news brands such as Vice and CNN or the faces of outspoken Trump critics such as Rosie O’Donnell, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Maxine Waters, and Barack Obama, among others. The church in the film has been renamed the “Church of Fake News” in the Trump video.
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An organizer of the event told The Times that the clip had been played at the conference as part of a “meme exhibit.” The spokesperson said in a statement, “Content was submitted by third parties and was not associated with or endorsed by the conference in any official capacity. American Priority rejects all political violence and aims to promote a healthy dialogue about the preservation of free speech. This matter is under review.”
A Trump spokesman said the president knew nothing of the video and added, “That video was not produced by the campaign, and we do not condone violence.” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted that Trump had not yet seen the video as of Monday morning, but “based upon everything he has heard he strongly condemns [it].”
The New York Times reported on the specifics of the edited “Kingsman” video, writing, “Mr. Trump attacks a range of his critics. He strikes the late Arizona senator John McCain in the back of the neck. He hits the television personality Rosie O’Donnell in the face and then stabs her in the head. He strikes Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California. He lights the head of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential rival, on fire.”
IndieWire has reached out to representatives for Disney/Fox and Matthew Vaughn for further comment.
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