Elon Musk called Ben Stiller a “retard” on Wednesday after the actor, who backed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, said he probably wouldn’t have been able to make the 2008 movie “Tropic Thunder” in today’s climate.
The billionaire owner of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, shared a post from author John LeFevre that included a screenshot of a Daily Mail article headlined, “Ben Stiller says woke America killed ‘edgier’ comedy.”
“Says this.... Endorsed Kamala,” LeFevre wrote of Stiller.
In his repost, Musk wrote, “Damn he went full retard,” alongside two laughing emojis, referencing a line from “Tropic Thunder.”
Stiller didn’t exactly say that, and he never used the word “woke” in his recent comments on the film. In a Collider interview published this week, the actor was asked if he thought “Tropic Thunder” could get made today. The movie, which Stiller directed and starred in, featured Robert Downey Jr. as a fictional white actor who dons blackface to portray an African American soldier.
“I doubt it,” Stiller said in response to Collider’s question. “Obviously, in this environment, edgier comedy is just harder to do.”
He said the idea for Downey’s character was “incredibly dicey,” even at the time.
“The only reason we attempted it was I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who that joke was on — actors trying to do anything to win awards,” he said. “But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have ventured to do it, to tell you the truth. I’m being honest.”
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In August, Stiller said that he would be voting for Harris, arguing that it was “time for change.”
Donald Trump, with whom Musk is closely allied, reportedly used the word “retarded” to describe both Harris and President Joe Biden during this year’s White House race, which Trump won. The Atlantic reported that Trump’s aides had to talk him out of publicly calling the Democratic president “Retarded Joe Biden.”