Actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller has criticised the White House for featuring a clip from his 2008 satirical action-comedy ‘Tropic Thunder’ in a pro-military montage shared online amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict.
Stiller took to X, formerly known as Twitter, urging the administration to remove the footage, stating that neither he nor the film’s creators had authorised its use.
The White House posted a 42-second video combining drone footage of recent US and Israeli military operations in Iran with scenes from popular films, television shows, and video games. Alongside Tropic Thunder, the montage included clips from ‘Gladiator’, ‘Top Gun’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘Braveheart’, ‘John Wick’, ‘Superman’, ‘Transformers’, ‘Deadpool’ and the video game series ‘Halo’.
The segment featuring Stiller’s film highlighted a brief scene of his character, studio executive Les Grossman, dancing in Tropic Thunder. Other clips showed actor Tom Cruise in ‘Minority Report’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. The video concluded with branding associated with the Trump administration and the caption: “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.”
Stiller responded on X, writing: “Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.”
In replies to comments on X, Stiller defended his position further. When one user criticised Tropic Thunder as a bad film, he replied. “You are entitled to your opinion.” Another comment suggested that the one-second Les Grossman clip was harmless, to which Stiller responded: “Usually to protest war.”
The controversy comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia following a joint US-Israel operation in Iran on February 28. The operation resulted in the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Tehran.
The conflict has disrupted flights, increased gas prices and heightened global concern.
