Ben Stiller hit back at the woke cancel culture mob and said he makes “no apologies” for his 2008 comedy “Tropic Thunder” and disputed a tweet alleging he had previously apologized for the film.
The 57-year-old actor, comedian and filmmaker tweeted on Tuesday to his 5.6 million followers that he did not apologize for the movie amid calls to have the film canceled and removed from streaming platforms, the New York Post reported.
The person on Twitter wrote, “[BenStiller] Please stop apologizing for doing this movie. It was and still is funny AF… Even funnier now with cancel culture the way it is. It’s a MOVIE. Ya’ll can just get over it. I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day and so was everyone else.” His post included a screenshot of another post that talked about how “liberals are trying to ‘cancel culture’ the movie. When the Wayans Brothers made ‘White Chicks’…. nobody said a dang thing!!!! STOP APOLOGIZING FOR THIS STUFF!!!!”
“I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder,” Stiller replied. “Don’t know who told you that. It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”
I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder. Don’t know who told you that. It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it. 🙏✊😊
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) February 21, 2023
Actor Robert Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a Method actor who darkens his skin to play a black soldier in the 2008 war movie, the outlet noted.
During the “Iron Man” star’s appearance in 2020 on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Downey said the film showed how wrong blackface is.
“I think that it’s never an excuse to do something that’s out of place and out of its time, but to me it blasted the cap on [the issue],” the Marvel star shared. “I think having a moral psychology is Job 1. Sometimes, you just gotta go, ‘Yeah, I effed up.’ In my defense, ‘Tropic Thunder’ is about how wrong [blackface] is, so I take exception.”
In 2018, Stiller stood by Olympic Gold medalist Shaun White after he dressed as a disabled character in the film, named Simple Jack, for his Halloween costume, People magazine noted.
“Actually ‘Tropic Thunder’ was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then,” Stiller tweeted. “It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apology, the movie, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the [SpecialOlympics].”