Ben Stiller prompted a slew of angry messages after a tweet he posted was mistaken for cheering on the recent shooting incident at the during Saturday’s (April 25) White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
US President Donald Trump and various members of his administration were ushered to safety by security after a gunman fired several shots before being apprehended at the event, held at the Hilton in Washington.
Around 20 minutes after the incident, Stiller posted on X (formerly Twitter) “Got it done”. The comment appeared to be part of a string of posts following the NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Stiller’s beloved New York Knicks, who won 114-98, with “got it done” possibly referring to the result. However, supporters of the President interpreted it to be a celebration of the attack.
Got it done
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 26, 2026
Republican politician Nancy Mace commented: “Got what done?” before removing the reply, with several users adding context notes regarding the NBA game (a screenshot on the original reply has been shared elsewhere). Richard Grenell, former director of the Kennedy Center, quote-tweeted the post with the comment: “Wtf?”, before also being corrected by context notes. Other replies saw users calling Stiller an “anti-American scumbag” and a “tool”.
Stiller is yet to comment on the post, but is known to be critic of the current administration. Last month, he joined Madonna, John Legend, Pedro Pascal and more in calling for the closure of an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centre as part of an open letter.
There are already very few buyers out there. Original ideas and non legacy IP is extremely hard to get made by a major studio or network. The winnowing down of choices results in less opportunity for new voices and diverse viewpoints in what we all are given the opportunity to… https://t.co/velnSxPdor
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 23, 2026
Recently, he also gave his name to a petition calling for the US government to block the forthcoming merger between Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery. “Original ideas and non-legacy IP is extremely hard to get made by a major studio or network” the actor tweeted regarding the deal. “The winnowing down of choices results in less opportunity for new voices and diverse viewpoints in what we all are given the opportunity to see. It’s already been challenging for years, and the merger will only make this worse.”