In response to these criticisms, Stiller has defended Tropic Thunder, stating, “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 further addressed the backlash in 2018, tweeting, “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… And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics.”
Robert Downey Jr., who was nominated for an Oscar for his role, initially had reservations about the part. On The Joe Rogan Experience in 2020, he shared his concerns: “I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll do that after Iron Man.’ And then I started thinking, ‘This is a terrible idea.’”
Downey Jr. later reflected on his decision, explaining, “Ben, who is a masterful artist and director… knew exactly what the vision for this was. It was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie. And 90% of my Black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great.’”