Ben Stiller, Mark Hamill and John Cusack are among the stars to have defended Martin Short after he was branded "desperately unfunny".

The 'Only Murders in the Building' actor was the subject of an op-ed from Slate, titled 'Why We Keep Putting Up With Martin Short', which argued his "over-the-top characters" over the years have been "unbelievably annoying" and claimed his so-called "schtick" over his five-decade career was "exhausting, sweaty, and desperately unfunny".

In response, a number of stars have spoken out on X, formerly Twitter, to insist the 'Father of the Bride' star is a "genius".

Ben posted: "Martin Short is a comedic genius. End o story."

'Star Wars' actor Mark shared a selection of Martin's past roles along with the caption: "Hard to believe people are actually debating whether or not Martin Short is funny. Newsflash: He is HILARIOUS."

John highlighted one of Martin's sketches from his stint at Second City Television, writing: "Mr. Rodgers boxing match is my fav.(sic)"

'Succession' actress J. Smith Cameron insisted the article had actually been a "valentine in spite of itself".

She wrote: "The infamous Martin Short article is filled with clips or references to characters that the writer finds annoying somehow, but are so entertaining that the article is a valentine in spite of itself.

"The clips left me helpless with laughter; I came away with more appreciation of Martin Short than ever."

Jerry O'connell recalled a childhood meeting with the 73-year-old star.

He posted: "When I was a kid, I walked up to Martin Short and told him I loved Three Amigos. He could not have been kinder to this annoying kid. I think about that exchange a lot."

Martin has yet to comment on the article.