Ben Stiller went after the Trump White House on Friday morning and the internet has not stopped talking about it since he posted it.
The actor and director posted directly to X, demanding the administration remove a clip from his 2008 film Tropic Thunder from a video the White House published online.
The post has been viewed millions of times within hours of going up.
“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip,” Stiller wrote. “We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.”
What Did Ben Stiller Say To Trump’s White House?
The White House published a video captioned “Justice the American way” that spliced together clips from multiple Hollywood films, including Braveheart, Top Gun, Superman, Transformers, Iron Man 2, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Tropic Thunder, into what critics are calling a pro-war propaganda video, posted in the context of U.S. and Israeli missile strikes on Iran.
Stiller did not mince words about what he thought the video represented, calling it a propaganda machine.
Stiller is not the first artist to push back on the White House using their work without permission.
The administration previously used Sabrina Carpenter’s music in a video depicting ICE raids.
It used Taylor Swift’s song “The Fate of Ophelia” in a montage celebrating Trump despite the president’s history of publicly criticizing her.
In October, Top Gun songwriter Kenny Loggins spoke out after the White House used “Danger Zone” in another video without authorization.
Swift did not publicly comment on her situation, but Ben Stiller did not stay quiet.
Ben Stiller’s History Of Activism Against Trump
Friday’s confrontation with the White House did not come out of nowhere. Stiller has been one of Hollywood’s most consistent and vocal critics of Donald Trump and his administration across both terms.
During Trump’s first term, Stiller posted on X after watching a Trump press conference: “Worst message I have ever heard a president put out to the world.”
He played Michael Cohen on Saturday Night Live during the height of the Mueller investigation.
He spoke publicly about Trump’s immigration policies, signing a letter calling peaceful protest “a constitutionally protected form of free speech essential to our existence as a democracy” and demanding the federal government “represent the expressed will of the people they serve, including removing ICE from our streets.”
In 2024, Stiller publicly endorsed Kamala Harris and spoke during the Unite For America call hosted by Oprah Winfrey.
When Elon Musk responded to the endorsement by calling him a slur on X, Stiller did not back down. “I know he really likes Tropic Thunder,” Stiller said. “Great. Good for him. But after the Nazi salute — the double Nazi salute — I’m not just into it. Never was into it.”
On Musk’s growing influence over the administration, he added: “What he cares about, pop culture and all that stuff, who gives a s—? But what’s happening in terms of him being so close to the president and all the questions that brings up in terms of conflicts of interest, all that stuff is really, really concerning.”
Earlier in 2025, Stiller commented directly on the climate for comedy under Trump’s second term.
“We live in a world where taking chances with comedy is more challenging,” he told Radio Times. “You’re seeing that front and center in our country. But I think it’s important that comedians keep doing what they’re doing, speaking truth to power and being free to say what they want.”
Pod Save America host Jon Favreau responded to the broader video posted by the White House with a statement that has also been widely shared:
“Hundreds of people are dead. Little girls are dead. Six Americans are dead. Others are risking their lives. Millions across the Middle East are terrified. It’s not a video game. It’s not a meme. It’s not another chance to troll the libs. It’s war.”
Does Ben Stiller Stand By Tropic Thunder?
The White House’s use of the Tropic Thunder clip carries an added layer of irony given the film’s history. The 2008 comedy, in which Stiller plays action star Tugg Speedman, was controversial from the moment it was released, primarily due to Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of an Australian method actor who undergoes a procedure to darken his skin to play a Black soldier.
The film was boycotted by disability advocacy groups at the time of its release over Stiller’s portrayal of a character with an intellectual disability.
Stiller has been asked about the film repeatedly over the years and has never backed away from it.
“I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder,” he said in a widely circulated response on social media. “It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”
His criticism of the White House Friday is not about the film’s content. It is about consent, and about a sitting administration using a Hollywood satire about the absurdity of war to glorify real military action.
How Old Is Ben Stiller?
Ben Stiller was born on November 30, 1965, in New York City. He is 60 years old.
What Are Ben Stiller’s Best Movies?
Stiller has been one of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures for three decades, working as an actor, director, and producer across comedy and drama.
His most commercially successful films include Meet the Parents (2000) and its sequel Meet the Fockers (2004), both of which became franchise staples. Zoolander (2001), which he directed and starred in, remains one of his most quoted films. Tropic Thunder (2008), which he also directed, is widely considered one of the sharpest Hollywood satires ever made.
Beyond comedy, Stiller earned significant critical recognition for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), which he directed and starred in, and for his dramatic work in Permanent Midnight (1998) and Greenberg (2010).
His television work includes creating and starring in The Ben Stiller Show in the early 1990s and, more recently, executive producing and starring in Severance on Apple TV+, which has become one of the most talked-about prestige dramas of the past several years.
The White House had not responded to Stiller’s demand as of the time of publication.
