Elon Musk has blasted Ben Stiller and even used one of his own slurs from the film Tropic Thunder on the actor for expressing doubts that the movie would have been greenlit in today’s woke climate.
The Tesla billionaire – who has been named as co-head of Donald Trump‘s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – took to his own X platform to have a shot at the 58-year-old comedic actor.
Elon reposted an X user’s screenshot of a DailyMail.com story about Stiller with the headline ‘Ben Stiller says woke America 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed “edgier” comedy‘ along a photo of one of Ben’s characters in Tropic Thunder named Simple Jack.
The controversy began when Stiller, who directed and starred in the now-controversial comedy/action film, said ‘edgier’ comedy is ‘just harder to do’ now in an interview with Collider.
When asked if a film like Tropic Thunder — which has since been labelled as racially offensive — could be made in the current environment, he replied, ‘I doubt it.’
‘I think even at the time we were fortunate to get it made, and I credit that, actually, to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. He read it and was like, “Alright, let’s make this thing.” It’s a very inside movie when you think about it.’
Stiller then referenced Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘dicey’ role in the movie, which has been criticized for its use of ‘blackface.’
Last year, Stiller staunchly defended Tropic Thunder — which also starred Tom Cruise, Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey — and insisted he’s ‘proud’ of the hit film after it was slammed by woke mob for Downey Jr.’s ‘blackface.’
A second social media follower drew attention to an historic tweet from actor, posted in response to a lighthearted claim that Tropic Thunder should be banned after US snowboarder Shaun White dressed as Simple Jack, a disabled character in the film, for Halloween in 2018.
