Ben Stiller remains “proud” of ‘Tropic Thunder’ even despite its blackface controversy
Even despite the controversy surrounding its use of blackface, Ben Stiller has come out fighting in the corner of his 2008 satirical action comedy film Tropic Thunder. Stiller recently took to Twitter to say that he has never felt apologetic about the film and remains “proud” of it even today.
The film saw Robert Downey Jr. play an Australian method actor who receives a “pigment alteration” operation in order to make his skin darker so he can portray a black character in the film within the film. Downey subsequently earned a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Academy Awards for his performance.
A fan of the film recently asked Stiller to “stop apologising” for it on Twitter. Still replied to the tweet, “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.”
The blackface issue is not the only controversy surrounding the film, as it also drew criticism for its treatment of disabled people. Stiller plays the actor Tugg Speedman, who himself decides to play a disabled character called Simple Joe in the fictional film, satirising those who play disabled characters and earn critical acclaim, like Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot.
Back in 2020, Robert Downey Jr. discussed his character on The Joe Rogan Experience, explaining that the whole point of the character was to showcase “how wrong” blackface is. “[Ben] knew exactly what the vision for this was; he executed it. It was impossible not to have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie,” Downey Jr. said.
He added, “I think that it’s never an excuse to do something that’s out of place and out of its time, but to me, it blasted the cap on [the issue]. I think having a moral psychology is job one. Sometimes, you just gotta go, ‘Yeah, I effed up.’ In my defence, Tropic Thunder is about how wrong [blackface] is, so I take exception.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.