Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro are facing boycott calls from viewers, including at least one former fan, who say the actors’ years of anti-Trump political activism have destroyed their interest in seeing the new movie. Stiller’s promotional post for the upcoming “Focker-In-Law” was flooded with replies from people vowing not to watch it. One commenter specifically said he had enjoyed the earlier movies but could no longer separate the performers from their politics. Another put it bluntly: “You couldn’t pay me to watch it.”
The new comedy brings Stiller and De Niro back as Greg Focker and Jack Byrnes, with Ariana Grande joining the franchise as the girlfriend of Greg’s son. It also has additional political connections behind the camera, including outspoken progressive activist Ilana Glazer, who shares a story credit with director John Hamburg and Austen Earl. Glazer has spent years organizing progressive voters and attacking Trump. That history gives the boycott calls another target extending beyond the movie’s two returning stars.
Stiller triggered the backlash Monday when he shared the movie’s trailer on X with the caption, “Time to get Focked up.” Instead of generating uncomplicated excitement for the franchise’s return, the post became a venue for viewers to unload on Stiller, De Niro, and Hollywood’s political activism. Many of the responses centered on the stars’ public attacks against Trump rather than anything shown in the trailer. Stiller even answered one user who predicted that the movie would flop.
Breitbart News reported that one user responded, “You couldn’t pay me to watch it.” Another commenter offered an alternative title for the movie, writing, “Flopper In-Law.” That particular jab received a direct response from Stiller. “Ouch. Good pun though,” the actor wrote. Another reply came from someone who identified himself as a former fan of the franchise. “Loved the previous movies, but you’ve tainted viewing with your ideological views and screeching at Trump,” the commenter wrote.
The same user predicted, “This will be one of those go woke, go broke moments.” One more user declared, “I speak for ALL Americans when I say, we WON’T be watching.” Another responded to Stiller’s promotional slogan with, “Or Fock Off!” The replies continued beneath a post intended to create excitement for the franchise’s first new installment since 2010.
The political criticism didn’t come out of nowhere. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Stiller participated in a “Comics for Kamala” fundraiser and pledged $150,000 to support Kamala Harris. While praising the Democratic nominee, he said, “She’s Indian, she’s black, she’s everything — I’m Jewish and Irish. I wish I was black. Every white Jewish guy wishes he was black.” The online fundraiser ultimately collected more than $500,000 for Harris’ campaign.
De Niro went considerably further by appearing at an official Biden campaign event outside Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial in May 2024. The actor, who also narrated a Biden campaign advertisement, called Trump a “clown” and compared his rise to that of dictators who were initially dismissed. De Niro warned that Trump could destroy American democracy and claimed, “If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave.” He also became involved in a profanity-filled confrontation with Trump supporters gathered outside the courthouse.
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Glazer, one of the movie’s credited story writers, has built an even more extensive political operation. She co-founded Generator Collective to promote progressive political engagement, supported Harris and Tim Walz in 2024, and later joined an election-eve phone-banking effort for democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani. In an op-ed endorsing Harris, Glazer described the United States as a democracy “built upon a white supremacist, genocidal framework” and placed Trump alongside Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu while discussing “fascist uprisings.” Her show “Broad City” previously promoted a “Trump-No-More” browser extension that censored the president’s name online.
The boycott calls are now following those political records into the promotional campaign for a movie built around nostalgia for the original cast. Universal is attempting to revive a comedy series that has been absent from theaters for 16 years, but viewers are using Stiller’s own post to announce that they are finished with its stars. Stiller and De Niro are also producers on the movie, while Glazer helped write the story. “Focker-In-Law” is scheduled to open in theaters on November 25th, 2026.