Hollywood star Ben Stiller has fired back at the White House after they used a clip from his 2008 comedy film Tropic Thunder in an official social media post. The 60-year-old actor took to X, formerly Twitter, to call out the unauthorized use, demanding its immediate removal.
The controversy erupted when the White House shared a video montage blending scenes from popular movies and TV shows with footage of American military operations. Alongside clips from Top Gun, Superman, Transformers, Breaking Bad, and Iron Man, Tropic Thunder’s satirical take on war movies appeared, paired with real combat visuals. The post was captioned ‘Justice the American way.’
Stiller responded sharply: ‘Hey @WhiteHouse, please take down the Tropic Thunder clip. We didn’t authorize it and have zero interest in being part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.’ His words underscore a growing backlash against the government’s repurposing of entertainment content for political messaging.
He’s not alone. Artists like Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, and Radiohead have previously objected to similar uses. Just this week, singer Kesha voiced outrage over her song ‘Blow’ featuring in a White House video depicting a fighter jet launching missiles from a naval ship, complete with explosions.
On March 2, Kesha posted on her Instagram Story: ‘I just learned the White House used my song on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war. Taking war lightly is disgusting and inhumane.’ She firmly rejected any endorsement of violence through her music.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung clapped back on X, reposting Kesha’s statement with: ‘These so-called “singers” keep falling for this trap. It gets us more attention and views because people want to see what they’re complaining about. Thanks for the spotlight.’
This isn’t the first time. The Trump administration faced criticism in December for a video highlighting recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests. Stiller’s stand highlights the tension between pop culture and politics, reminding us that satire has limits when co-opted by power.