Ben Stiller Isn’t Sorry for Making ‘Tropic Thunder’: ‘I Make No Apologies’

Hollywood star Ben Stiller isn’t sorry he made the 2008 Hollywood satire Tropic Thunder, even in light of the character played by Robert Downey Jr. — a Method actor who undergoes skin darkening and other drastic physical alterations to play a black soldier in the movie within the movie.

Ben Stiller tweeted his resolve this week in response to a fan’s claim that he has been apologizing for the movie.

“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,” he wrote.

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. 🙏✊😊

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) February 21, 2023

The confusion appears to have originated over a resurfaced 2018 tweet in which Stiller in fact did apologize for Tropic Thunder, though his apology at the time seemed to address the blowback over the movie’s other movie-within-a-movie “Simple Jack,” in which his character played a mentally handicapped man in an Oscar bait performance.

Watch below:

More than 20 groups including the Special Olympics and National Down Syndrome Congress organized a nationwide boycott of the film upon its release.

Actually 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, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics. https://t.co/RqID5jIXP1

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) October 30, 2018

Robert Downey, Jr. received an Oscar nomination (in real life) for his Tropic Thunder performance with little to no controversy at the time. Speaking to Joe Rogan in 2020, Downey Jr. recalled, “And 90 percent of my black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great.’”

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