‘Peaky Blinders’ denounces Ron DeSantis homophobic campaign video

Members of the Peaky Blinders cast and crew have condemned a campaign video promoting Ron DeSantis and his US presidential bid.

The video, which uses clips of attractive straight men to illustrate a homophobic narrative, and pokes fun at the moral panic stemming from the Florida governor’s policies, appears to have been made by the right wing media brand Proud Elephant. The @DeSantisWarRoom “rapid response” campaign account on Twitter then retweeted the video.

In the video are clips of Cillian Murphy’s character Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders as well as other fictional alpha male types such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort from The Wolf Of Wall Street. Various headlines pop up on the screen to hit back at the moral panic (“Florida’s anti-LGBT laws are unwarranted and un-American”) over DeSantis’ controversial views, of which he also harbours an anti-trans agenda.

Donald Trump, DeSantis’ opponent in the 2024 race, is attacked in the video for being a woke politician who has no issue with the trans community. “To wrap up “Pride Month,” let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it…,” reads the caption in the retweet posted by the @DeSantisWarRoom account.

pic.twitter.com/o33HL2zMes

— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) July 5, 2023

Now, Murphy has written in a joint statement with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions and Banijay Rights, that they “strongly disapprove” of the attack ad.

“We do not support nor endorse the video’s narrative and strongly disapprove of the use of the content in this manner,” it reads.

They added that the footage of Shelby was “obtained without permission or official license”.

Those wishing to view the video can do so here.

Meanwhile, Peaky Blinders was referenced recently in the prospective takeover of Birmingham City Football Club.