Actor Cillian Murphy and the Peaky Blinders team are furious after a clip from the show was used in a “homophobic” video tweeted by Ron DeSantis’s US presidential campaign.
A statement from creator Steven Knight, actor Cillian, who plays Tommy Shelby, and the production companies said the footage used was obtained “without permission or official licence”.
The Florida governor is in the running to become the Republican candidate for the 2024 US presidential election.
The video, posted by the DeSantis War Room account, takes aim at his rival Republican candidate Donald Trump ’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues.
Former Trump administration official Ric Grenell described the video as “undeniably homophobic”, and The Log Cabin Republicans, an organisation of LGBTQ Republicans, said it had “ventured into homophobic territory”.
It featured clips from the films American Psycho, Troy and The Wolf of Wall Street, as well as one of Cillian as gangster Shelby in the BBC show.
The statement from the “partners of Peaky Blinders” said: “We confirm the footage of Tommy Shelby’s character used within the video posted by Ron DeSantis’ campaign was obtained without permission or official licence.
“We do not support nor endorse the video’s narrative and strongly disapprove of the use of the content in this manner.”
Trump leads DeSantis in polls to be the Republican candidate for the 2024 Presidential election.
Irish actor Cillian, 47, previously said: “I think all politicians are terrible. I think being terrible is part of being a politician.”
He plays the lead role in new film Oppenheimer, which is to be released later this month.
