Ben Stiller Shames Trump Administration for Using ‘Tropic Thunder’ Clip: ‘War Is Not a Movie’

Actor and director Ben Stiller is the latest artists to demand the Trump administration stop using their work as “propaganda.”

The White House X account posted a mash-up of war-hype movie clips and actual Iran strikes for its latest Iran war promotion Friday under the heading, “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.” The movie clips included Gladiator, Braveheart, Top Gun, and Stiller’s 2008 film, Tropic Thunder.

“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,” Stiller wrote.

https://wwww.twitter.com/BenStiller/status/2029989426948870182

The clip in question showed actor Tom Cruise as Hollywood studio executive Les Grossman doing a celebratory dance.

Last year, Trump poached pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Juno” in a post that depicted ICE raids, which the artist called
“evil and disgusting.”

And Top Gun songwriter Kenny Loggins “spoke out against the White House’s use of his hit song ‘Danger Zone’ in a video that depicted Trump flying over No Kings protestors and dropping poop all over them,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone.’ Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately.”

According to a report in Vanity Fair, “Since Trump began his political career in earnest, he’s been told off, sued, insulted, or some combination of the sort by legends like the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, and Phil Collins,” to name a few.

Friday’s White House video ran one day after critics berated the administration for splicing clips of actual strikes on Iran with scenes from the video game “Call of Duty.”

CNN panelist David Sanger, with The New York Times, said he’s “never seen anything like this, that sort of takes the real footage and tries to basically suggest this is a game.”

Watch the clip above via The White House.

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