Ron DeSantis Called Out by 'Peaky Blinders' for Using Netflix Show Footage in Campaign Ad

The team behind Netflix's Peaky Blinders is denouncing the use of footage from the show in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' latest presidential campaign video.

The 63-second campaign video, which was originally released June 30 on Twitter, opens with former President Trump voicing his support for the LGBTQ+ community and contrasts it with DeSantis being lambasted for his anti-LGBTQ+ policies alongside various news headlines criticizing the governor.

The video includes scenes of well-known fictional Hollywood characters, such as Cillian Murphy's Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders, Brad Pitt's Achilles in Troy, Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street and Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. It also includes a play on Top Gun, utilizing the franchise logo and tweaking it to read "Top Gov," and several shots of bodybuilders.

On Wednesday, the Peaky Blinders team broke their silence, issuing a statement against the use of Murphy's character in the video.

"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 or official license," reads the statement posted on the official Peaky Blinders Twitter account.

"We do not support nor endorse the video's narrative and strongly disapprove of the use of the content in this manner," the message concludes.

DeSantis announced his intention to launch his 2024 presidential bid in May.

Watch the original campaign video below.

Peaky Blinders ran for six seasons from 2013 through 2022.

Created by Knight and based on true events, the British gangster drama starred Murphy as Peaky Blinders mobster Thomas Shelby, who returns to Birmingham after World War I.

Though the original series wrapped last year, Knight said the forthcoming movie won't mark the end. “We could never have predicted how much this series about Birmingham ­gangsters in the 20s and 30s would resonate," he said during his speech Saturday at the TRIC Awards, where Peaky Blinders won the drama award. "Some things just seem to have momentum and luck, and they stick, and everyone working on them feels that. What is coming next? It’s to be announced. But it’s not the end."

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