Actor and director Ben Stiller is shutting down a false claim on social media amplified by Elon Musk claiming that Stiller and other actors were paid millions by USAID to make trips to Ukraine.

"These are lies" wrote Ben Stiller about a video posted on X and amplified by Musk alleging USAID spent $4M to send the actor on a highly-publicized visit to Ukraine

Ben Stiller recently found himself at the center of a controversy created by social media reports. The reports claimed that Stiller was among the Hollywood celebrities whom USAID (United States Agency for International Development) for their respective trips to Ukraine.

Hollywood actor Ben Stiller took to social media Wednesday to swat away what he called "lies coming from Russian media" — and promoted by Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor who was indicted along with Donald Trump and 17 others in Georgia's election interference case.

Ben Stiller has denied social media reports that his humanitarian trip to Ukraine was funded by USAID, dismissing the claims as Russian “lies.” Over the weekend, the US Agency for International Development was targeted for dissolution by Elon Musk,

Ben Stiller visited Ukraine in mid-June 2022. He met with Ukrainian refugees and visited recently liberated towns and villages in Kyiv Oblast. He also met with President Zelenskyy. Read also: Musk and Trump Jr.