Who does Ben Stiller play in Tropic Thunder? Elon Musk mocks actor over his quote about woke culture making "edgier comedy" difficult

In a recent public exchange, Elon Musk took to social media to poke fun at actor and director Ben Stiller following his remarks about how "woke culture" has made it more challenging to create edgier comedy.

On November 27, 2024, Elon Musk reshared a tweet originally posted by former investment banker and author John LeFevre. The tweet featured a screenshot of a headline about Stiller's remarks and an image of Stiller's character from Tropic Thunder.

LeFevre's caption implied that his statement could be seen as contradictory to his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. In response, Musk retweeted the post, mocking Stiller's comments with a satirical remark.

In the 2008 satirical comedy Tropic Thunder, Stiller portrays Tugg Speedman, a method actor famous for his role as an autistic farmer named Simple Jack.

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A brief look at Ben Stiller's role in Tropic Thunder

Stiller (Image via Leon Bennett/WireImage)

According to IMDb, in Tropic Thunder (2008), Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a fading action movie star desperate to prove his acting chops after a string of unsuccessful films.

Tugg is a method actor known for his role as "Simple Jack," a character with an intellectually disabled portrayal of a farmer that draws significant controversy for its insensitive nature.

Moreover, Stiller's character is part of a group of actors in the movie who are dropped into a real-life jungle to film a war movie. The plot of Tropic Thunder revolves around the actors being unknowingly placed in a dangerous situation where they must navigate a series of absurd events, with Tugg trying to reclaim his career and reputation.

Furthermore, throughout the film, Tugg is portrayed as self-absorbed and struggling with his identity as a star, particularly after being typecast as an action hero.

The role of Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder was one of the film's standout performances, using humor to explore the absurdity of celebrity culture and the sometimes exaggerated self-importance of movie stars.

In addition to starring in Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller directed and co-wrote the film. According to IMDb, Tropic Thunder received 47 nominations and won 10 awards, including the Comedy of the Year award from the Hollywood Film Awards in 2008, which was presented to Stiller.

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Elon Musk reacts to Ben Stiller's woke culture criticism

On Wednesday, Elon Musk reshared a tweet on X that referenced Ben Stiller's comment about woke culture. As mentioned, the tweet included a headline featuring Stiller's quote along with an image of the actor from his movie, and Musk added his commentary in response —

"Damn he went full r*tard 🤣🤣," Musk wrote on X.

Stiller's comment was also made on Wednesday during an interview with Collider. In the discussion, Stiller suggested that the current cultural climate has made creating "edgier comedy" more challenging —

"I doubt it. Obviously, in this environment, edgier comedy is just harder to do. Definitely not at the scale we made it at, too, in terms of the economics of the business," Stiller said.

Additionally, while discussing Robert Downey Jr.'s character in Tropic Thunder, Stiller acknowledged that the role was "very dicey." He further noted that, in this environment, he is uncertain whether he would have even attempted to include such a character —

"The idea of Robert playing that character who's playing an African American character, I mean, incredibly dicey. Even at the time, of course, it was dicey too... 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," Stiller said.

As of now, Ben Stiller has not clarified what he meant explicitly by "this environment." However, during the interview, he expressed pride in Tropic Thunder. Additionally, Stiller has not yet responded to Elon Musk's remarks.