Movies
Ben Stiller won’t apologize for controversial ‘Tropic Thunder’
Ben Stiller maintains he is proud of the work that everyone did on the controversial 2008 film.
The 2008 satirical movie ‘Tropic Thunder’ generated plenty of talk when it was released, and that hasn’t stopped almost 15 years later.
Directed and co-written by Ben Stiller, the critically acclaimed film took a comedic look at the extreme lengths actors and those in the movie industry would go in order to achieve fame and acclaim.
The film, which also stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, attracted criticism for several of its gags.
Downey plays an Australian actor, Kirk Lazarus, who undergoes cosmetic surgery to darken his skin in order to play a Black army sergeant.
Within the plot of the movie-within-a-movie, Lazarus is criticized by a Black actor for continuing to wear blackface outside of filming.
Stiller stands behind ‘Tropic Thunder’
A Twitter user recently asked Stiller to “stop apologizing” for the film”, which got a response from the 57-year-old.
“I make no apologies for ‘Tropic Thunder,’” Stiller said on Tuesday. “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.”
It isn’t the first time Stiller has stood behind the movie. Back in 2018, he discussed the boycott around the film when it came out.
At the time of the film’s release, 20 disability advocacy groups objected to the use of a word that was used to disparage people with intellectual disabilities.
“Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then,” Stiller tweeted in 2018.
“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.”
Downey also addressed criticism
In 2020, Downey addressed the criticism directed at the movie while on Joe Rogan’s podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’.
“I get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion,” Downey said.
“Ben, who is a masterful artist and director, knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it.
“It was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie. And 90 percent of my Black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great.’ "