“We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine,” Stiller wrote on social media.

Ben Stiller demands White House remove *Tropic Thunder *clip from White House video: ‘War is not a movie’

"We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine," Stiller wrote on social media.

By Sharareh Drury

on March 6, 2026 4:12 p.m. ET

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Ben Stiller. Credit:

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Ben Stiller is speaking out against the White House for using a clip from the actor and director's 2009 war comedy *Tropic Thunder *in a social media post.

A Thursday post from the official White House X account featured a bevy of scenes from films and television series, including *Top Gun*, *Braveheart*, *Iron Man*, *Breaking Bad *as well as *Tropic Thunder, *along with the caption "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥." The specific clip from *Tropic Thunder *used in the video is of Tom Cruise's character Les Grossman dancing.

On Friday, Stiller retweeted the White House post and made clear he did not approve of *Tropic Thunder*, which he directed and starred in, being used.

"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.

This recent White House video, which includes several clips of warfare with the text "Unclassified" above, comes less than a week after the United States and Israel coordinated strikes on Iran.****Reps for Stiller, Cruise, and the White House did not immediately respond when contacted by ** for comment.

The Trump administration's social media presence has been called out before by celebrities for using their likeness or content without permission. Sabrina Carpenter blasted the administration for using her song "Juno" in a montage of clips showing ICE raids, to which an official representative responded, "Here's a Short n' Sweet message for Carpenter: we won't apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country."**

Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey in 'Tropic Thunder'.

White House responds to Sabrina Carpenter calling out use of 'Juno' in ICE raids video: 'Must be stupid'

White House shares trolling response after Kenny Loggins demands removal of 'Danger Zone'

Kenny Loggins recently demanded the removal of the unauthorized use of his song "Danger Zone" in President Donald Trump's AI-generated video dumping what appears to be poop on protestors. The official response back to ** was a*Top Gun* meme.

Kesha also joined the list of musicians speaking out against the Trump administration for using their music, specifically her song "Blow" being used in a TikTok post in February. On March 2, the singer wrote on Instagram, "It’s come to my attention that The White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war."

The singer added, "Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane." Her song has since been removed from the White House's TikTok post.**

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