The White House released a promo for the strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran, prompting backlash from actor-director Ben Stiller due to the use of clips from his hit satire Tropic Thunder.
Released on the official White House social media account on Friday, the promo features clips from various films, including Gladiator, Braveheart, Top Gun: Maverick, Breaking Bad, etc. interspersed with actual combat footage from the strikes on Iran. In response, Stiller asked that the clips from Tropic Thunder be removed, saying he wanted his film to have no part in the White House “propaganda machine.”
“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip,” wrote Stiller on X. “We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.”
Other filmmakers have not spoken out about the use of clips from their respective films.
Stiller’s criticism of the White House social media account comes after singer Kesha rebuked the White House for featuring her song “Blow” in a TikTok video set to military footage of a jet striking an enemy ship.
“It’s come to my attention that the White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war,” she wrote on social media. “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane.”
“Love always trumps hate. Please love yourself and each other in times like this. This show of blatant disregard for human life and, quite frankly, this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for,” the post continued.
The White House then claimed Kesha’s criticism led to more views on the released video.
“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the White House said.
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