"War is not a movie": Ben Stiller lashes out at the White House's use of a clip from one of his films in a video about Iran

Ben Stiller was not pleased to see images from Tropic Thunder being used by the Trump administration. On his Twitter account, the actor-director asked the White House to remove the clip used in a montage published the day before, which mixes references from films and TV series with images of airstrikes carried out in Iran. "We did not authorize you (to use a clip from the film) and have no desire to be part of your propaganda machine," Ben Stiller wrote. "War is not a movie."

About forty seconds long and published on social media accompanied by the phrase "Justice the American way," the video accumulates references from all directions, from Gladiator to Braveheart via Top Gun: Maverick, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Superman or Breaking Bad. With a remix of the iconic music from the film Mortal Kombat serving as its soundtrack. The video released by the White House also includes a very short excerpt from Tropic Thunder, a satirical comedy released in 2008 which, as a reminder, mocks war films produced by Hollywood. The images are taken from the famous end credits of the film, when the character Les Grossman, the crude producer played by Tom Cruise, dances to Ludacris's "Get Back." As Variety points out, this isn't the first time the White House's use of film or music references has ruffled feathers. Last October, Kenny Loggins, the singer of "Danger Zone" from the Top Gun soundtrack, expressed his outrage at seeing his song used in a video. Generated by AI, it depicted Donald Trump pelting protesters with feces. "No one asked for my permission, which I wouldn't have given, and I demand that my recording of this video be immediately removed," Kenny Loggins fumed. His request went unheeded. The video remains available in its original version on the US president's Truth Social account.