After ron desantisThe presidential campaign shared a strange video that has been widely described as homophobic and homoerotic which includes images of cillian murphythe character of “Peaky Blinders”, the team behind the British crime drama denounced the video, adding that the footage from the show was “obtained without permission or official license”.
The video, shared by the DeSantis campaign on Twitter, blasts rival 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump for vowing to “protect our LGBTQ citizens.” The video also mocks Trump for defending Caitlyn Jenner’s right to choose her own bathroom and allowing transgender women to compete in his Miss Universe pageants. The edit, first shared by @ProudElephantUS and then reposted on DeSantis’s “Rapid Response” campaign account @DeSantisWarRoom, then cuts to a clip of seemingly queer rapper Tyler the Creator yelling “Psycho!” before bragging about DeSantis’ various legislative attacks on LGBTQ people.
One frame, sandwiched between an image of a male bodybuilder and a clip of Christian Bale on “American Psycho,” shows the sunglasses-wearing Republican governor of Florida above the headline: “DeSantis signs the most extreme list of anti-trans laws in modern history. ‘”
Alongside other images of shirtless men and recent headlines are two clips of Murphy’s “Peaky Blinders” character Tommy Shelby.
“We do not support or endorse the narrative of the video and strongly discourage the use of the content in this manner,” Murphy wrote in a statement. joint declaration with “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight, Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions and Banijay Rights.
Representatives for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comments.
This isn’t DeSantis’ first brush with Hollywood. In particular, the Republican presidential candidate has launched a legal battle with Disney, stripping the company of the power to govern itself on the 25,000-acre site of its Orlando theme parks. In an earnings call in May, Disney CEO Bob Iger called DeSantis’ actions a “retaliatory matter” against the entertainment conglomerate for its stance against the Florida governor’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022.
