'Tropic Thunder' Trends After New Viewers Demand Apology From Robert Downey Jr. Over Blackface

The 2008 action/comedy Tropic Thunder has started trending again for an unexpected reason. The [...]

By Christian Long

The 2008 action/comedy Tropic Thunder has started trending again for an unexpected reason. The film, which was directed by and stars Ben Stiller, features a group of actors who head deep into the jungle to learn discipline on a Vietnam movie that's budget has spiraled out of control. Although it's one of the supporting roles that's caught the attention of the internet lately.

Robert Downey Jr., the same year he made his big-screen debut as Iron Man, played Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder. A revered Method actor, Lazarus undergoes a "pigmentation alteration" to appear black for his role in the in-movie war flick, which is also called Tropic Thunder. Given the satirical nature of the humor, the idea of a white man essentially appearing in blackface is one of the movie's central gags. Although that didn't stop a small crop of Twitter users who are demanding Downey apologize for the 12-year old role.

It's also not the first time the film has been criticized. Back when it was still in theaters, a line Downey's character utters about playing the mentally handicapped was publicly derided as insensitive by more than 20 advocacy groups. However, after a recent outcry over Downey's appearance, and Twitter became a hotbed of Tropic Thunder opinions.

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