Even though Tropic Thunder came out almost 20 years ago, it is still causing trouble, and the lead actor, Ben Stiller, says he has “no apologies” for it.
Some people didn’t want to see the movie when it came out in 2008 because of how it portrayed disabled people and minority groups. For example, Marvel’s Robert Downey Jr. wore blackface in the movie.
Ben Stiller has said that he is still “proud” of the comedy film.
It was because a fan told him to “stop apologizing” for the 2008 movie and said that it was funnier now because of the culture of canceling.
They wrote this to the actor:
Please stop apologizing for doing this movie. It was and still is funny AF. Even funnier now with cancel culture the way it is. It’s a MOVIE. Ya’ll can just get over it.
I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day and so was everyone else.
A screenshot of an earlier tweet that said the Meet the Parents star had to apologize for Tropic Thunder was attached to the post.
Ben Stiller replied to the fan by writing:
I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder. 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’s not the first time he’s talked about the controversy over the movie, which shows a group of fake actors fighting in the jungle and making fun of Apocalypse Now.
Back in 2018, Olympic athlete Shaun White dressed up as Jeff Portnoy from Tropic Thunder, who was played by Jack Black.
Some of his fans were very angry about it, and the snowboarder eventually apologized for what he’d done on social media, saying he’d made a “wrong” choice.
At the time, Stiller also responded to a former fan’s call on Twitter to stop going to see the movie again.
He wrote:
Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10-years-ago when it came out, and I apologized then.
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.
Ben Stiller isn’t the only actor in the movie who didn’t want to apologize for how they looked.
In an interview for The Joe Rogan Experience, actor Robert Downey Jr. said he felt the same way.
He stood up for the movie by saying:
It was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie.
