When Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump used a reference from The Matrix to promote conservative policies, Matrix co-creator Lilly Wachowski chimed in to say, “Fuck both of you.”
It all began earlier today, when Elon Musk tweeted out the words, “Take the red pill.” On its face, this is an allusion to an early scene in 1999’s The Matrix. The character of Neo (Keanu Reeves) is offered a choice between a red pill and a blue pill, which represent facing reality or returning to the pleasant illusions of a computer simulation. But the phrase has accumulated charged political meanings over the years. In many internet communities, “taking the red pill” is a euphemism for a conservative political awakening, and TheRedPill is the name of a notorious misogynist subreddit.
Right-wing figures including Ivanka Trump jumped at Musk’s call to “Take the red pill.” The First Daughter retweeted the message, along with the comment “Taken!” At this point, Wachowski told them both to fuck off.
It’s probably relevant that Ivanka’s dad has been using the coronavirus crisis to undermine LGBTQ protections. That might be one of many reasons why Wachowski followed up her invective with a donation link to the Brave Space Alliance, a Chicago organization that services trans and gender-fluid people in vulnerable communities.
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Musk’s pharmacological directive comes days after he railed against California’s coronavirus policies and threatened to move to the more lax state of Texas. The new father spent the end of April echoing President Trump’s COVID-19 talking points, tweeting “FREE AMERICA NOW,” and “Give people their freedom back!”
The Matrix 4, written and directed by Lana Wachowski, is currently scheduled for 2021.
Fuck both of you
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020
Support @BSAllianceChi if you can. https://t.co/rrDPOaaYED
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020
