Ben Stiller — writer, director and star of 2001's Zoolander — has addressed some fans' opinions that Donald Trump's appearance in the comedy film should be cut, defending his choice to keep the president's scene intact.
Speaking with The New Abnormal podcast, Stiller explained that he plans to leave the movie exactly as it is.
"We were shooting at the now-defunct VH1 Fashion Awards and as people were coming up the red carpet, we pulled them aside and asked them to talk about Derek Zoolander, and so Trump and Melania did that," he explained of the president's appearance.
"There were so many movies that had a silly cameo from Donald Trump. He represented a certain thing," he continued. "I've had people reach out to me and say, 'You should edit Donald Trump out of Zoolander,' but at the end of the day, that was a time when that exists and that happened."
To be fair, Stiller may actually fear the power he wields in this scenario. Around Christmastime last year, CBC cut Trump's scene in Home Alone 2 to the dismay of many Americans — as well as the president himself, who later blamed Justin Trudeau for the removal. So we can't blame Stiller for wanting to stay out of the drama.
Listen to the full episode below.
Speaking with The New Abnormal podcast, Stiller explained that he plans to leave the movie exactly as it is.
"We were shooting at the now-defunct VH1 Fashion Awards and as people were coming up the red carpet, we pulled them aside and asked them to talk about Derek Zoolander, and so Trump and Melania did that," he explained of the president's appearance.
"There were so many movies that had a silly cameo from Donald Trump. He represented a certain thing," he continued. "I've had people reach out to me and say, 'You should edit Donald Trump out of Zoolander,' but at the end of the day, that was a time when that exists and that happened."
To be fair, Stiller may actually fear the power he wields in this scenario. Around Christmastime last year, CBC cut Trump's scene in Home Alone 2 to the dismay of many Americans — as well as the president himself, who later blamed Justin Trudeau for the removal. So we can't blame Stiller for wanting to stay out of the drama.
Listen to the full episode below.