Disability groups lash out at Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder

The film-maker Ben Stiller has walked into trouble. This week's Los Angeles premiere of Tropical Thunder, which Stiller (pictured with his partner Christine Taylor) wrote, directed and stars in, attracted large crowds of placard-waving demonstrators objecting to its so-called humorous treatment of the disabled. A film within the film carries the tagline "Once upon a time… there was a retard" and Stiller's intention was to spoof Hollywood actors who think playing a disabled character will guarantee them an Oscar. But the joke has fallen flat.

Tim Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics disability group, complains: "We feel that the use of the word 'retard' throughout the film, 15 or more times, is done without any regard for the dignity of people with intellectual disabilities... The caricatures of people with intellectual disabilities are almost hateful. We want this to be the end of Hollywood treating this population as the butt of jokes."

DreamWorks, distributors of the film which includes cameos from Tom Cruise and Steve Coogan, has refused to make cuts and says: "The film is in no way meant to disparage or harm the image of individuals with disabilities. Tropical Thunder is an R-rated comedy that satirises Hollywood and its excesses, and makes its point by featuring inappropriate and over-the-top characters in ridiculous situations."