Cillian Murphy and the makers of Peaky Blinders have said they “strongly disapprove” of the use of clips from the show being used in a video shared by supporters of Ron DeSantis’ US presidential campaign.

A statement released on behalf of creator Steven Knight, Murphy and the show’s production companies said the footage used was obtained “without permission or official licence”.

The Florida governor is running to become the Republican candidate for the 2024 US presidential election.

The video was posted by a Twitter account named DeSantis War Room and appears to criticise Republican rival Donald Trump’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues.

It features clips of films including American Psycho, Troy and The Wolf of Wall Street, as well as clips of Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders.

“On behalf of the partners of Peaky Blinders… 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,” a statement posted to the Peaky Blinders account said.

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

Read more:
Trump widens lead over Republican rival DeSantis despite legal woes, poll shows
Cillian Murphy says filming Peaky Blinders without late co-star Helen McCrory was ‘very strange’

Former Trump administration official Ric Grenell described the video as “undeniably homophobic” on Twitter just hours after the campaign shared it, according to NBC News, Sky News’ US partner network.

The Log Cabin Republicans, an organization of LGBTQ Republicans, also criticized DeSantis, writing on Twitter that he has “ventured into homophobic territory.”

Last month a poll for NBC News showed Mr Trump had widened his lead over Mr DeSantis, his nearest Republican rival, in the race to be the party’s US presidential candidate, with 51% of people surveyed saying they would place him as first choice in a primary ballot.

Only 22% said they would put Mr DeSantis top – a gap of 29%.

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Mr DeSantis caused controversy last month when he signed a bill allowing roads in his Florida state to be built with “radioactive” mining waste linked to cancer.

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The governor of Florida authorised a law allowing phosphogypsum – a by-product from the making of fertiliser – to be used in road construction aggregate material.

Environmental activists opposed to the bill called it “reckless” and dangerous.

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