Don’t mess with the Peaky Blinders! Cillian Murphy and gangster show creators slam ‘homophobic’ US presidential race campaign video

After a promo video for hard-right US presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis was released containing footage from ‘Peaky Blinders’, its star Cillian Murphy teamed up with the show’s creator and producers to slam the promo for using unlicensed footage in a “narrative” they didn’t support.

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy has slammed a “homophobic” campaign video for presidential candidate Ron DeSantis that features footage from ‘Peaky Blinders’.

The ‘Oppenheimer’ actor, 47, teamed up with creators of the hit gangster drama, in which he played ruthless Tommy Shelby, to slam the use of the clip in a promo which has been shared by supporters of the 44-year-old US election hopeful and branded anti-gay by critics.

Published via a popular Twitter account called ‘DeSantis War Room’, the video includes several images of Cillian as Tommy and appears to target former president Donald Trump, 77, for publicly supporting LGBTQ+ rights – and highlighting DeSantis’ targeting of the community on several occasions.

Cillian, ‘Peaky Blinders’ writer Steven Knight, 63, and its maker Tiger Aspect Productions, said in a statement shared on Twitter: “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.

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ron DeSantis (@rondesantis)

Governor of Florida DeSantis recently approved a new bill restricting the discussion of gender and pronouns in schools in a law branded by critics as “Don’t Say Gay”.

The video was shared by DeSantis supporters to coincide with the end of Pride Month.

Richard Grenell, 56 – the first openly gay White House Cabinet official when he was appointed by Trump in 2020 as acting director of national intelligence during – said the clip was “undeniably homophobic”.

DeSantis’ campaign has yet to respond to requests for comment over Cillian and the ‘Peaky Blinders’ creators’ statement.

DeSantis is hoping to build support with his hard-right positions on abortion, transgender rights and other issues.

When they were asked for a comment on the video, Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign team highlighted a tweet from the ex-president’s adviser Jason Miller who had suggested “somebody’s getting fired” over the DeSantis video.