The Matrix co-director Lilly Wachowski has ordered fanboy Elon Musk to go and get fucked, suggesting the billionaire may have learned all the wrong lessons from the 1999 hit.
Taking to Twitter this morning, Musk urged his followers to “Take the red pill,” resulting in the none-too-pleased response from Wachowski.
The line comes from a pivotal scene in The Matrix, where protagonist Neo is asked if he wants to shelve the “blue pill” and remain comfortably ignorant to the world around him, or take the “red pill,” exposing the true nature of his oppressive existence.
It’s worth noting that Musk himself has expressed a sincere belief that our reality may actually be a simulation, which is the crux of The Matrix series.
But Musk’s use of the phrase is hard to read as an idle expression of fandom.
In some online circles, taking the “red pill” has become synonymous with denying certain societal conventions, like not being a shithead to women; more broadly, it can represent a disavowal of being told what to do, by anyone, for any reason.
That second point is particularly troubling in the middle of a pandemic, and Musk recently told his Twitter following he’d reopen Tesla’s Californian factory despite local health authorities initially advising against it.
Kickstarting the American economy is a big deal to the Trump administration, and it’s hard not to read a co-sign from Ivanka Trump as an implicit endorsement of Musk’s desire to throw his factories (and factory workers) back into operation, despite the obvious health risks.
Taken! https://t.co/Ng0S2OFC93
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 17, 2020
Which brings us to Wachowski, who replied with this:
Fuck both of you
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020
Don’t expect to see any levitating Tesla cars in the upcoming Matrix flick, I guess.
