Elon Musk has been criticized for using the R-word to mock Hollywood actor Ben Stiller.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that the 53-year-old tech mogul responded to claims made by Stiller about his 2008 film Tropical thunderin which he declared that comedy could no longer be made nowadays.
The film, a comedy that follows a group of actors making a big-budget Vietnam War film, sparked controversy by portraying Robert Downey Jr.’s character. “went black” and Stiller played a mentally handicapped ‘farm boy’ named Simple Jack.
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Critics quickly denounced Musk’s use of the slur, calling it skillful and inappropriate regardless of its cinematic origins.
Many questioned Musk’s decision to use such language on a platform he owns, highlighting its potential to amplify harmful rhetoric.
However, others defended him, arguing that the quote was a reference to the film’s satirical intentions.
Stiller, 58, opened up Tropical Thunder while expressing doubts about the acceptance of “edgier comedy” in contemporary Hollywood.
He said: “I doubt it. Obviously in this environment, edgier comedy is just harder to make. Certainly not on the scale we’ve been making it, also in terms of the economics of the business.
“I think we were lucky enough to get it made at the time, and I actually credit that to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks.
“He read it and said, ‘Okay, let’s make this thing.’ It’s a very inside movie when you think about it.”
The Dodgeball The star pointed to Downey Jr.’s character Kirk Lazarus, an Australian method actor and five-time Academy Award winner, who got himself controversial “pigmentation change” surgery so he could play a black soldier in the film.
He said: “But yeah, the idea of Robert playing that character playing an African-American character, I mean, incredibly risky.
“Even at the time, of course, it was risky. The only reason we tried it was because I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who the joke was about: actors trying to do anything to win awards.
“But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have dared to do it, to tell you the truth. I’m honest.”
Last year, Stiller responded to a fan on X who asked the actor to “stop apologizing for making this movie.”
The actor wrote: “I make no apologies for it Tropical ThundeR. I don’t know who told you that.
“It’s always been a controversial film since it opened. Proud of the work everyone put into it.”
Downey Jr.’s portrayal of the character. has received some criticism over the years, but the actor, who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the role, has previously defended the film’s use of blackface.
He said: ‘There used to be an agreement with the public, and I’m not saying the public no longer understands – I’m saying things have become very clouded.
“The ghost who directed, cast and shot Stiller Tropical thunder essentially it was a defense against all these tropes that were wrong and (that) had been perpetuated for too long.
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