Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin McDonagh has lashed out at No campaigners after a clip from his film Seven Psychopaths featured in social media posts ahead of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
Leading No campaign group Fair Australia shared the clip on social media with an image of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese superimposed over the face of the character Paulo, played by Zeljko Ivanek.
Albanese was depicted wearing a Yes badge in the doctored clip, in which Paulo threatens the character Hans - played by Christopher Walken - with a gun and asks him to put his hands up.
Hans refuses to do so despite the weapon.
The Fair Australia social media post was accompanied by the message: "Don't let them bully you. Vote NO to the Voice of Division."
McDonagh told Guardian Australia he wasn't aware the clip was used in the No campaign and the posts appeared to be "deliberate copyright infringement by a bunch of rightwing swine".
The British-Irish playwright and filmmaker said he stood with First Nations people and his agents and producer would ask Fair Australia to desist.
Fair Australia later tagged the media organisation in another social media post referencing McDonagh's comments, saying: "Don't know how it works in Hollywood, but in Australia there's a thing called 'parody'."
Seven Psychopaths is among several revered films written and directed by McDonagh, including In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin, both starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
Fair Australia is funded by the conservative lobby group Advance and headed by NT coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
The group is looking to win support for the No case ahead of the October 14 referendum.
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