First Man is by most accounts a good movie about Neil Armstrong’s journey into space, but it’s been marred by controversy this week over not featuring enough of the American flag for some people. Today Buzz Aldrin, the man who climbed down that ladder right after Neil Armstrong did, appeared to tweet his own take on the controversy. Sharing two photos of himself and Armstrong on the surface of the moon with the American flag, Aldrin also added #proudtobeanAmerican, which a number of media outlets, including the New York Post and Vanity Fair, have interpreted as a dig at his upcoming shipmate’s biopic and its perceived neglect of Old Glory.
The controversy over whether the flag was given a large enough role has been weighed in on by just about everyone in the movie, with Neil Armstrong’s actual sons, even defending the film from accusations of being anti-American. And while defenders note that many people complaining about the lack of flags haven’t even seen the movie yet, just wait until all these detractors realize the flag doesn’t even have lines.