Actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller has slammed the White House for using a clip from his 2008 satirical action-comedy Tropic Thunder in a pro-military montage video shared online amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) he demanded that the clip be removed, making it clear that neither he nor the film’s creators had authorised its use.
What did the White House post?
The official X account of The White House posted a video featuring clips from Tropic Thunder, Gladiator, Top Gun and more Hollywood films. The 42-second video combines drone footage of recent military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran with scenes from popular films, television shows and video games.
The montage concludes with branding associated with the administration of US President Donald Trump alongside the caption: “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.” Among the clips featured in the video are scenes involving actor Tom Cruise, beginning with footage from Minority Report and followed by a segment from Top Gun: Maverick. The montage also includes a brief shot of Cruise’s flamboyant studio executive character, Less Grossman, dancing at the end of Tropic Thunder.
Additional footage in the compilation draws from several well-known franchises and titles, including Star Wars, Breaking Bad, Braveheart, John Wick, Superman, Transformers, Deadpool and the video game franchise Halo.
How did Ben Stiller react?
Ben was not happy with his 2008 film Tropic Thunder’s footage being used in what he called ‘propaganda’. Slamming the White House, he wrote, “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.”
When an X user commented, “Tropic Thunder sucked big time! Horrible movie!!!” the filmmaker-actor replied, “You are entitled to your opinion.” Another person commented, “Loved Tropic Thunder however your getting up set over 1 second of footage from the len grossman dance scene post credits nor is propaganda. We know war is not a movie but yet we keep making movies about war” and he responded, “Usually to protest war.”
This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia following a joint operation by the US-Israel on Iran on February 28. The operation resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, triggering retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Tehran across multiple countries in the region. The conflict has affected flight schedules, gas prices and more.
