Topics: Celebrity, TV And Film, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Iran, Israel, World News
Ben Stiller has directly called out the White House after it used a clip from his 2008 film, Tropic Thunder, in its controversial montage video, which makes reference to Iran.
The war-comedy boasts a star-studded cast featuring Stiller, Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Matthew McConaughey, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte and Robert Downey Jr., who controversially played his role in blackface.
Last week (6 March), the official White House X account shared a video compilation using several clips from various Hollywood films and TV shows, including footage of Christopher Reeve’s Superman declaring 'Truth, Justice and the American Way'.
The social media video celebrated the recent US and Israeli bombings in Iran with a fast-cut montage of drone footage. The two nations launched joint attacks on Iran late last month (28 February), which set off retaliatory strikes across the region.
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The clips were spliced with well-known moments and dialogue from Marvel, DC, anime, cult cinema and modern action franchises.
The edit features Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, designing the Iron Man suit while speaking with JARVIS. It also cuts to Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad and Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul.
Other pop culture nods appear throughout, including Keanu Reeves in John Wick, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren from Disney’s Star Wars, along with footage from Transformers, Deadpool, Mortal Kombat, Halo and Yu-Gi-Oh.
Lines used in the montage include 'strength and honour', 'what will you do without freedom', 'you can't conceive of what I'm capable of', 'finishing this fight', 'I am the danger', 'finish him', 'now end this', and the sequence closes on 'flawless victory'.
The 42-second clip was captioned 'JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY' alongside a United States flag and a fire emoji.
One clip showed Cruise's dance scene in Tropic Thunder, which prompted Stiller's response.
Taking to his own X account last Friday, the Hollywood A-lister 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."
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. https://t.co/dMQqRxxVCa
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) March 6, 2026
The original White House post has amassed more than 63 million views, while Stiller's quote-post has respectively racked up over 37 million views.
When previously approached by Tyla on the video last week, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: "Under the decisive leadership of President Trump, America’s heroic warfighters are meeting or surpassing all of their goals under Operation Epic Fury.
"The legacy media wants us to apologise for highlighting the United States Military’s incredible success, but the White House will continue showcasing the many examples of Iran’s ballistic missiles, production facilities, and dreams of owning a nuclear weapon being destroyed in real time."
Still better than Zoolander 2 https://t.co/pxNBh17CpL
— Kaelan Dorr (@Kaelan47) March 6, 2026
When approached for comment on Stiller's X post, the White House directed Tyla to an X post shared by White House Deputy Communications Director, Kaelan Dorr, who took to the platform last week to write: "Still better than Zoolander 2."
