The majority of you will be aware that Robert Downey Jr. wore blackface for his role in Tropic Thunder, and the actor has recently spoken out about the backlash it received.

Tropic Thunder may be fifteen years old, but the internet has recently re-ignited another very sensitive debate amongst Millennials that have just discovered the movie.

Starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Tom Cruise, and a whole host of other talented actors, this 2008 action-packed comedy was an absolute hit at the time it was released, gaining an impressive 7/10 on IMDb and a 82% positive rating.

However, times change and with the rise in cancel culture, many are calling for a fresh boycott of the film.

Dozens of social media users have shared their shock at how the movie was allowed to be made in the first place, with one new viewer writing: “I’m not much of a Boycott guy, but there is a “film” I’ve  just encountered, again, on cable “Tropic Thunder“. It is a very graphic Parody of the Vietnam War, w/much blood/guts – only none of the Stars of the film ever Served. I find it deeply Offensive, and trust you do too.”

While another wrote: “Boycott Tropic Thunder for perpetuating the dehumanization of people with intellectual disabilities!”

However, not everyone agrees with canceling the film, “I knew eventually the ‘woke kids’ were gonna learn about Tropic Thunder and try to cancel RDJ.

“This movie is just 11 years old and they literally can’t handle it.  These kids are absolutely screwed for life if Tropic Thunder is too much for them.”

The movie, which starred Marvel’s Robert Downey Jr. in blackface, received backlash when it was released in 2008 because of how it portrayed minorities and people with disabilities.

Despite the controversy, the film’s star, Ben Stiller, has stated that he has “no apologies” for it, even going as far as to say he’s “proud” of the movie.

Stiller’s comments came after he was told to “stop apologising” for the movie by a fan who claimed that current cancel culture made the movie even funnier.

They wrote: “Please stop apologising for doing this movie. It was and still is funny AF. Even funnier now with cancel culture the way it is. It’s a MOVIE. Ya’ll can just get over it.

“I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day and so was everyone else.”

It wasn’t long before Stiller responded, writing: “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.”

And it seems that Robert Downey Jr. also has no regrets when it comes to staring in the controversial movie…

Appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, Downey Jr. discussed why he accepted the job and how, despite occasionally feeling uneasy about it, he doesn’t regret taking on the problematic role.

He said: “I thought ‘yeah I’ll do that, I’ll do that after Iron Man’ and then I started thinking ‘this is a terrible idea, wait a minute’.

“Then I thought ‘hold on dude, get real here where is your heart’ and my heart is: A, I get to be black for a summer in my mind, so that’s in it for me.”

“The other thing is I get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion, just my opinion.”

He added that although it was “impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie,” Downey Jr. claimed that after viewing Tropic Thunder, his black friends told him, “Dude, that was great.”

What do you think?


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