Actor Ben Stiller Condemns White House for Unauthorized Use of “Tropic Thunder” Footage

Ben Stiller has publicly rebuked the White House after discovering that clips from his 2008 film “Tropic Thunder” were used without permission in a pro-war social media video celebrating U.S. military strikes on Iran.

“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,” Stiller wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The controversial 42-second montage featured footage of recent U.S. strikes against Iran interspersed with scenes from popular films including “Iron Man 2,” “Gladiator,” and “Braveheart.” The “Tropic Thunder” segment showed actor Tom Cruise dancing in character as movie executive Les Grossman.

The video concludes with footage of a U.S. strike on an Iranian ship, followed by an animated character saying “Now end this!” before displaying the White House logo as a voice declares “Flawless Victory” – a reference to the video game franchise “Mortal Kombat.” The clip was captioned: “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.”

This incident marks the latest in a series of controversial social media posts from the White House that mix actual combat footage with entertainment media. Just a day earlier, the administration faced widespread criticism for sharing a video of real missile strikes edited together with scenes from the “Call of Duty” video game franchise.

Despite the backlash, the White House doubled down by sharing another video on Friday combining strike footage with a clip from the “Grand Theft Auto” video game series, featuring the phrase “Ah s***, here we go again.” After each strike, the word “wasted” – a reference to the death notification in the game – flashed across the screen.

When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the videos, telling The Independent: “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 apologize 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,” Kelly added.

The social media posts come amid growing humanitarian concerns about the ongoing military operations. According to the Associated Press, the Iranian government has reported at least 1,230 casualties from the attacks so far.

The controversy has intensified following reports that U.S. forces may have been responsible for a strike that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran. Reuters cited two U.S. officials who said military investigators believe American forces were likely behind the incident, which Iranian officials claim killed more than 175 people, including 150 students.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Wednesday that officials were investigating the incident and emphasized that the U.S. would “never target civilian targets.” When asked if the deaths resulted from a U.S. strike, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially responded, “Not that we know of.”

In a separate statement to Reuters, Leavitt said, “While the Department of War is currently investigating this matter, the Iranian regime targets civilians and children, not the United States of America.”

The White House’s use of entertainment media to celebrate military action has sparked debate about the appropriate presentation of warfare and the ethics of repurposing copyrighted creative content for military propaganda without permission from the creators.