“Peaky Blinders” team slams Ron DeSantis over homophobic campaign video with Cillian Murphy footage

The producers behind British mob drama “Peaky Blinders” are not thrilled that Ron DeSantis used footage from their show to denounce the LGBTQ community in a bizarre presidential campaign video, reports Variety. Released on June 30 by DeSantis’ “rapid response operation” on Twitter, the video mocks rival 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump for making statements in support of the LGBTQ community. It then cuts to clips of DeSantis alongside heroic shots of brooding and murderous characters in Hollywood, like Brad Pitt in “Troy,” Christian Bale in “American Psycho” and Cillian Murphy in “Peaky Blinders.” In one frame, DeSantis is seen sporting sunglasses above the headline: “DeSantis Signs ‘Most Extreme Slate of Anti-Trans Laws in Modern History.'” Another frame displays his TIME Magazine cover with the biting headline, “What Ron DeSantis means for America.”

“On behalf of the partners of ‘Peaky Blinders’ — Steven Knight, Cillian Murphy, Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions and Banijay Rights — we confirm the footage of Tommy Shelby’s character used within the video posted by Ron DeSantis’ campaign was obtained without permission or official license,” the show’s cast and crew wrote in a statement shared on Twitter. “We do not support nor endorse the video’s narrative and strongly disapprove of the use of the content in this manner.”

This isn’t the first time the Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful has butted heads with the entertainment industry. DeSantis is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Disney after he took away the mass media company’s ability to self-govern the 25,000-acre site of its Walt Disney World amusement parks in Orlando. Disney claimed the move was DeSantis’ effort to further target and retaliate against the company for disagreeing with his “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans education about sexual orientation and gender identity in some Florida classrooms.