As explained by People , the 2008 satirical comedy film featured Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, a White Australian method actor who underwent “pigmentation alteration” surgery to play Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris, a Black character, complete in blackface .

Over the years, Stiller and Downey Jr. have stood by the controversial film, which also received backlash for its disrespectful treatment of people with mental disabilities around the time of its release. They have frequently stated that Tropic Thunder was satirizing actors who engage in insensitive and offensive stereotypes.

The 2008 satirical film starred Robert Downey Jr. as a Method actor who dons blackface to play a Vietnam War soldier.

Ben Stiller doesn’t think that if pitched today, Tropic Thunder would ever get made. In a new interview, the Zoolander actor explained why he thinks the 2008 satirical action comedy film he directed and co-wrote would have difficulty getting greenlit.

Tropic Thunder star and director Ben Stiller has confirmed what many movie fans have long believed: there's no way that the hit 2008 comedy could have