Ben Stiller slammed the White House after the Trump administration used an excerpt from the movie Tropic Thunder in a video promoting the recent attacks on Iran, a montage that combines actual war footage with sequences from movies, TV shows and video games. The actor publicly demanded the removal of the clip, accusing the administration of turning the conflict into a visual spectacle.
In a message posted on the X platform, Stiller said:
“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and we have no interest in being part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie“.
The actor is referring to the video montage published by the White House, in which scenes from Tropic Thunder appear alongside images from Minority Report, Top Gun: Maverick, Star Wars, Breaking Bad, Gladiator, Braveheart, John Wick, Superman, Transformers, Deadpool and Halo, all interspersed with footage of the American and Israeli attacks on Iran, according to deadline.com.
The video was released days after Iranian state television confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei following US and Israeli strikes.
The Motion Picture Producers Association of America (MPA), however, did not comment on the use of these materials.
Increasing criticism from the music and film industries
The controversy comes shortly after artist Kesha accused the Trump administration of using her song Blow in a military video titled ““Lethality”which featured the launch of a missile at a ship. Her filing is in addition to other similar cases where artists have complained about the unauthorized use of their creations in political or military material.
