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Robert Downey Jr defends wearing blackface in controversial movie Tropic Thunder; says people have 'clickbait addiction to grievance'
Robert Downey Jr. has played many diverse characters, but his turn in the 2008 comedy film Tropic Thunder remains one of his finest and most criticized as well.
Robert Downey Jr. is without a doubt one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. His fortunes changed with his role as Tony Stark in the 2008 film Iron Man. The same year he also had another big role which is considered one of his very best as well as the most controversial, that of playing Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder.
What did Robert Downey Jr. say about the controversy surrounding his role in Tropic Thunder?
Robert Downey Jr. has been doing the rounds around the awards circuit for his performance in Oppenheimer and is being eyed as a frontrunner in the Best Supporting Actor category. This was the same category that he was nominated in for Tropic Thunder years ago. While appearing on Rob Lowe’s Literally! Podcast, the actor opened up about his thoughts on the backlash he and the film has endured over the years.
“Ben Stiller knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it, it was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie,” The Dolittle actor said. He added, “And 90% of my Black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great.’ I can’t disagree with the other 10% but I know where my heart lies”
While talking about his role he also brought up the famous 70s sitcom, All in the Family which was known for showing the contemporary social issues of that time. The show also had a disclaimer before it began which talked about how the show is trying to show certain issues in a humorous light.
“I was looking back at ‘All in the Family,’ and they had a little disclaimer that they were running at the beginning of the show,” Downey Jr. said about the similar backlash that sitcom had endured.
He continued, “People should look it up, exactly what it is, because it is an antidote to this clickbait addiction to grievance that people seem to have with everything these days.”
The show’s disclaimer claimed that the show was attempting to throw light on the absurdities of several social problems at that time and through its attempt at humor, the show was seeking to put a mirror up to society. Robert Downey Jr. felt that it was easy to judge a piece of media by picking apart a good or bad thing from it, but it’s essential to view it as a whole thing and understand its underlying purpose before passing on judgments.
Why is Robert Downey Jr.’s role in Tropic Thunder considered controversial?
Tropic Thunder which was directed by Ben Stiller is considered to be one of the best Hollywood comedies of the 21st century. It has earned this title not just because of its stacked cast which includes Tom Cruise, Matthey McConaughey, Jack Black and even director Ben Stiller himself. But the biggest reason that it’s still remembered today is Robert Downey Jr.’s legendary turn as actor Kirk Lazarus.
In the film, the Oppenheimer star played an Australian method actor who is playing a black character in a movie for which he has undergone certain treatments to look the part. It was a role within a role type of scenarios which may happen to be in a comedy movie but required a certain type of actor who can convincingly play such a layered character. And Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect man for the job.
The legendary role didn’t just make the audience tickle but even scored an Oscar nomination for Downey Jr. which he would have probably won as well if it weren’t for Heath Ledger’s iconic performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Despite the acclaim and popular success, there were some detractors of the role at the time of the film’s release and the years since. The main issue with the role is the use of blackface, that is a deliberate makeup on a white actor in order to make them look like an African-American character. The practice is considered to be racist and has its root in early Hollywood days when actors or performers were deliberately made to look like that because not many African-American actors were actually cast in films.
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