A post by Ben Stiller celebrating a win for the New York Knicks sent MAGA into a frenzy after it was misinterpreted as a reaction to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner only minutes earlier.
Donald and Melania Trump and top Cabinet officials were abruptly evacuated from the black-tie event on Saturday evening after shots rang out outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton.
During the chaos, the 79-year-old president was forced to drop to the ground as he exited the venue protected by Secret Service agents.
The suspected gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was stopped after rushing past a security checkpoint armed with two firearms and multiple knives, apparently intending to attack Trump and members of his Cabinet.
At the same time, Stiller—a longtime Knicks fan—was posting live reactions on X as the team secured a Game 4 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks to even their playoff series.
The game wrapped up at around 8:53 p.m. ET, just minutes after reports began emerging that Trump had been escorted out of the dinner
At that point, Stiller shared a brief three-word message with his followers: “Got it done.”
The post caught the attention of some MAGA supporters, who wrongly interpreted it as a reaction to the shooting.
“Got what done?” replied Rep. Nancy Mace.
“Wtf?” wrote Ric Grenell, Trump’s special envoy and former Kennedy Center chief.
Others escalated their criticism. Cheryl Riley, a self-described “America First” candidate running for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, labeled Stiller a “vile human.”
Cynthia Hughes, the founder of the Patriot Freedom Project, which helps people arrested in the wake of the Jan. 6 protest, also commented: “Little Ben knows exactly what he was doing when he posted this. He sits in his mansion with millions in the bank being a little whiny b---h. Don’t let this d---head fool you, he knew exactly what he meant when he posted this. Your kind MISSED AGAIN.”
Stiller appeared unfazed by the backlash, posting a salute emoji the following morning.
Meanwhile, X added Community Notes to posts by Mace and Grenell clarifying the context: “He was rooting on the Knicks to win their game against the Atlanta Hawks. (They did, by the way.)”
Stiller later leaned back into the celebration, replying to a post from the New York Knicks’ official account—asking fans about their mood after the victory—with three fire emojis.
