‘Peaky Blinders’ Denounces Ron DeSantis For Using Cillian Murphy Footage In Anti-Gay Campaign Ad ‘Without Permission’

etcanada.com:

Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy when he unveiled a campaign ad that’s been criticized as an outright attack on the LGBTQ+ community.

In the ad, DeSantis slams ex-POTUS Donald Trump for not being hateful enough, mocking him for his earlier vow to “protect our LGBTQ citizens” in the bizarre video, which is intercut with a series of imagery, ranging from oiled-up bodybuilders to Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby in “Peaky Blinders”.

That latter image has raised the hackles of the people behind the Netflix hit, with the show’s official Twitter account serving DeSantis and his campaign with an unofficial cease and desist over their unauthorized use of a clip from the show. READ MORE: ‘Heartstopper’ Cast Have The Best Response To Anti-LGBTQ+ Protesters As They Party At London Pride “On behalf of the partners of ‘Peaky Blinders’ — Steven Knight, Cillian Murphy, Caryn Mandabach, 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 licence,” reads the statement. “We do not support nor endorse the video’s narrative and strongly disapprove of the use of the content in this manner,” the statement concluded.

Openly gay U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg hilariously deflated DeSantis over the ad during an appearance on CNN. “I’m going to leave aside the strangeness of trying to prove your manhood by putting up a video that splices images of you in between oiled-up, shirtless bodybuilders,” Buttigieg said. “And just get to the bigger issue that is on my mind whenever I see this stuff in the policy space,