Elon Musk mocked Ben Stiller for his support of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election with an insensitive slur.

On Wednesday (November 27), a tweet from former investment banker and author John LeFevre went viral. In the post, he included a screenshot of a headline that read, “Ben Stiller says Woke America killed ‘edgier’ comedy,” alongside a photo of Stiller. Tropical thunder Character.

In the controversial 2008 satirical comedy, Stiller Tugg plays Speedman, a method actor known for his portrayal of an autistic farmer named Simple Jack.

“Say this… Endorse Harris…” LeFevre tweeted, referencing the headline. Ardent Trump supporter Musk, who the president-elect has hinted will play a role in his Cabinet, reshared the post hours later, adding: “Damn he’s gone full throttle.”

Musk’s remark is likely a reference to a line from the film that Robert Downey Jr.’s character says while talking to Tugg about Simple Jack. “Everyone knows you never go full throttle,” Downey Jr.’s Kirk Lazarus tells him.

The article shared by LeFevre was based on Stiller’s recent interview with Colliderin which the actor was asked if he thought the controversial 2008 film, which also starred Downey Jr. in blackface, could be made today.

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“I doubt it,” Stiller said. “Obviously it’s harder to do an edgier comedy in this environment. Certainly not to the extent that we achieved it, also in terms of the company’s profitability.

“Of course it was sensitive even then,” he continued. “The only reason we tried it was because I felt the joke was very clear in terms of who it was about – actors who will do anything to win awards.” But now, in this environment, I honestly don’t even know if I would have dared to do it. I’m honest.”

Although Stiller acknowledged the problems with the noughties film, he is still “proud” of it.

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“I don’t apologize for it Tropical thunder“,” he tweeted in 2023 in response to a fan who told him to stop apologizing for the film’s production. “I don’t know who told you that. Since our premiere, the film has always been a controversial film. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”

Downey Jr., who received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role, also defended the film and its use of blackface.

“(Ben) knew exactly what the vision was for it, he executed it, there was no way it wasn’t going to be an insulting nightmare of a movie. And 90 percent of my black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great'” said the Marvel star on an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast of the same name.

“I can’t disagree with them, but I know where my heart lies. I think that it is never an excuse to do something that is out of place and out of time, but for me it was a culmination (of the topic)… I think having a moral psychology is among the first Tasks. Sometimes you just have to say, “Yeah, I did it.” In my defense: Tropical thunder It’s about how wrong (blackface) is, so I’ll make an exception.”

Last summer, both Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. were among a number of Hollywood stars who supported Harris.

“I’m very excited about the continued development and all the energy and excitement that this movement has right now,” Stiller said in a video interview posted by journalist Nicholas A. Ballasy in August. “That’s why I’m here, because it’s time for change and it seems like it’s happening.”

Meanwhile, Downey Jr. and his Avengers co-stars supported Harris and Tim Walz on Instagram with the hashtag #AssembleForDemocracy.