{"id":3817,"date":"2024-07-31T00:07:36","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T00:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/?p=3817"},"modified":"2024-07-31T00:07:38","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T00:07:38","slug":"ben-stiller-refuses-to-apologize-for-tropic-thunder-says-hes-proud-of-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/ben-stiller-refuses-to-apologize-for-tropic-thunder-says-hes-proud-of-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Stiller refuses to apologize for \u2018Tropic Thunder\u2019 \u2013 says he\u2019s proud of movie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ben Stiller\u00a0stands firm in his support for \u201cTropic Thunder,\u201d expressing pride in the action-comedy despite its controversies.\n\n\n\n

The film, released in 2008, follows a group of actors filming a war movie who inadvertently find themselves in an actual conflict.\n\n\n\n

It was well-received and became a box-office hit, grossing approximately $195 million against a reported budget of $92 million.\n\n\n\n

However, the film has faced significant backlash over the years. \u201cTropic Thunder\u201d features a star-studded cast, including Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Jay Baruchel, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Danny McBride, Matthew McConaughey, and Brandon T. Jackson.\n\n\n\n

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One of the main points of contention is Downey Jr.\u2019s character, Kirk Lazarus, an Australian method actor who undergoes a controversial \u2018pigmentation alteration\u2019 surgery to darken his skin and portray the Black character, Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris.\n\n\n\n

As the BBC explains, blackface refers to when someone, typically with white skin, paints their face darker to resemble a Black person, historically used to mock Black people for the entertainment of white audiences. This practice is both inaccurate and deeply offensive.\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the movie was boycotted by several disability advocacy groups, including the Special Olympics, for its use of a derogatory term for people with intellectual disabilities. Stiller\u2019s character, an actor who portrays a character named \u201cSimple Jack,\u201d further fueled the controversy.\n\n\n\n

Many have boycotted the film due to these offensive elements. Discussing it on social media, one person remarked: \u201cIt\u2019s extremely offensive\u2026 just shows we have a long way to go,\u201d while another added, \u201cI\u2019m too uncomfortable to enjoy any of it.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Stiller, who directed and co-wrote \u201cTropic Thunder,\u201d has defended the film and expressed his pride in it. Addressing the controversy on X (formerly Twitter), he responded to a fan urging him never to apologize for his involvement.\n\n\n\n

Stiller stated: \u201cI make no apologies for Tropic Thunder. Don\u2019t know who told you that. It\u2019s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.\u201d\n\n\n\n

In 2018, he also acknowledged the backlash with a tweet: \u201cActually 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\u2026 And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics.\u201d\n\n\n\n

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Robert Downey Jr., who received an Oscar nomination for his role, had initial reservations about the character. On \u201cThe Joe Rogan Experience\u201d in 2020, he recalled thinking, \u201cI thought, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019ll do that. I\u2019ll do that after Iron Man.\u2019 And then I started thinking, \u2018This is a terrible idea.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n

However, he eventually embraced the role, explaining: \u201cI get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they\u2019re allowed to do on occasion.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Downey Jr. also praised Stiller\u2019s vision, saying: \u201cBen, who is a masterful artist and director\u2026 knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it, it was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie. And 90% of my Black friends were like, \u2018Dude, that was great.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n

Despite the controversies, both Stiller and Downey Jr. remain proud of \u201cTropic Thunder,\u201d highlighting its satirical take on Hollywood and the lengths actors will go for their craft.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben Stiller\u00a0stands firm in his support for \u201cTropic Thunder,\u201d expressing pride in the action-comedy despite its controversies. The film, released in 2008, follows a group […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3817"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3817"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3819,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3817\/revisions\/3819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}