Hollywood actor and director Ben Stiller criticized the White House for using a clip from the film Tropic Thunder, which he co-wrote and directed, as part of their pro-war video montage on social media.
Angry at X, Ben said that the makers of Tropic Thunder never gave the White House permission to use their clip as part of the “propaganda machine”.
“Hey White House please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being part of your propaganda machine,” he wrote. “War is not a movie.
In the comments section, Ben defended his view of the Iran war, saying that war movies are made “usually to protest the war.”
Earlier this month, pop singer Kesha also criticized the Trump administration and the White House for the unauthorized use of her song on social media.
Her song Blow was used in a video released last month. The clip showed a fighter jet firing a missile at a naval ship with the caption “Lethality”.
What does the White House video show?
The 42-second White House clip, titled “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY,” features footage of the recent strikes on Iran cut between scenes from several films, including Iron Man 2, Gladiator and Braveheart. The video ends with a shot of the US striking an Iranian ship, followed by a clip of an anime character saying, “Stop it now!”
The White House logo then flashes on the screen and a voice says “Flawless Victory” in reference to the Mortal Kombat video game series.
White House video clips on Iran war
The White House has faced widespread backlash for sharing videos of real missile attacks edited together with scenes from video games and movies.
On Wednesday, their social media clip featured scenes from the Call of Duty franchise.
In another clip on Friday, the White House used the infamous clip of a character from the Grand Theft Auto video game series saying, “Oh shit, here we go again.” After each stroke, the word “useless” appeared on the screen.
“Legacy media wants us to apologize…”: White House spokesman
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Independent that the White House would continue to show many examples of Iran’s ballistic missiles and praised America’s heroic warriors for meeting or exceeding all the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
“Under President Trump’s determined leadership, America’s heroic warfighters are meeting or exceeding all of their objectives under Operation Epic Fury,” she said.
“The legacy media wants us to apologize for highlighting the incredible success of the United States military, but the White House will continue to show many examples of Iran’s ballistic missiles, manufacturing facilities, and nuclear dreams being destroyed in real time,” she added.
