DeSantis faces bipartisan backlash for LGBTQ+ ad
Fox News contributor Karl Rove calls 2024 presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent ad an ‘unfortunate error’ on ‘The Story.’
The team behind the Netflix series "Peaky Blinders" sent a strongly worded message to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his 2024 campaign team shared a video using footage from the show which was aimed at Donald Trump.
The video, sent at the end of Pride Month, focuses on the former president's positions on LGBTQ issues.
Actor Cillian Murphy's character Thomas Shelby is shown briefly in the video shared by the "DeSantis War Room" Twitter account.
The stars and creators of the British historical drama condemned the DeSantis campaign for sharing the video which allegedly used shots from the Netflix series "without permission," and said they did not support the video's message.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a political roundtable, Friday, May 19, 2023, in Bedford, N.H. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
"On behalf of the partners of Peaky Blinders — Steven Knight, Cillian Murphy, Caryn Mandabach Productions, 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 of official license. We do not support nor endorse the video’s narrative and strongly disapprove of the use of the content in this manner," the tweet read.
Ron DeSantis' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The video at the center of the controversy criticizes Trump over his Pride merchandise, relationship with Caitlyn Jenner and 2016 pledge to "protect our LGBTQ citizens," Fox News Digital previously reported.
"To wrap up ‘Pride Month,’ let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it…" the campaign wrote above the video made by another Twitter user.
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Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Getty Images)
The video was heavily criticized by those on the right and left when it was shared last week. It has since been viewed 25 million times.
Karl Rove, a former top aide to President George W. Bush, said the governor committed an "unforced error" by sharing the video.
"At the heart of it, it is mystifying. But at the heart of what [DeSantis] has done are things that have a great deal of popularity," Rove said on Fox News.
He argued the "odd" move was unnecessary considering DeSantis had garnered strong conservative support by opposing biological males competing in women's sports and barring graphic sexual content being taught to young children in the classroom.
"He has signed a law saying biological males cannot participate in women's sports. He said we won't have discussion of gender in kindergarten through… grade three or four, and we will only have age-appropriate sex education after that. These are the kind of things that people are strongly in favor of, but this ad makes it look like he glories, or his campaign is glorying in, attacking the LGBTQ community," the Fox News contributor said.
Richard Grenell, Trump's former acting Director of National Intelligence and the nation's first openly gay cabinet official, called the video "undeniably homophobic" in a tweet sent on Friday.
American flags and a pride flag hang from the White House during a Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn, Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director for DeSantis' campaign, responded to Grenell's tweet, saying "opposing the federal recognition of ‘Pride Month’ isn't "homophobic."
"We wouldn't support a month to celebrate straight people for sexual orientation, either... It's unnecessary, divisive, pandering. In a country as vast and diverse as the USA, identity politics is poison," she added.
Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also mocked the video in an appearance on CNN last weekend.
The day after the video was shared, both Trump and DeSantis battled for the support of conservative women at the Moms for Liberty conference. Both candidates vowed to take action against the "woke" and decried the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling the parental rights organization "extremist."
Fox News' Julia Musto and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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