The Matrix helmer Lilly Wachowski will not tolerate Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump making any reference to her 1999 film.
Musk took to Twitter on Sunday to encourage his 34.3 million followers to “take the red pill.” Though the Tesla and SpaceX CEO did not offer much context for his cryptic tweet, Musk followed up his tweet with a meme featuring Laurence Fishburne’s character from The Matrix with the caption, “Did you seriously take both pills? WTF is wrong with you?” Of the photo, Musk wrote: “When you take Dayquil & NyQuil at the same time.”
In the film, the character Morpheus (Fishburne) offers Neo (Keanu Reeves) the option to take a blue pill if he wants to return to his life or take a red pill if he wants to learn the truth about the Matrix. The “red pill” line has seemingly taken a new meaning online to represent leaning toward conservative political beliefs.
The first daughter and White House adviser responded to Musk’s “red pill” tweet, writing “Taken!”
The film reference did not sit well with Wachowski, who responded to both Musk and Trump’s tweets, writing, “Fuck both of you.”
Wachowski then shared a link to the LGBTQ social service Brave Space Alliance, where she encouraged her followers to donate “if you can.” Wachowski came out as transgender in 2016.
Warner Bros. is set to reboot The Matrix, with Wachowski’s sister, Lana Wachowski, directing and Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss both returning. The Wachowskis collaborated on the original films together.
The new pic is scheduled for release on May 21, 2021, but it is unclear whether the production’s shutdown due to the novel coronavirus will necessitate postponing the date.
Musk and Trump have not responded to Wachowski’s tweet.
Fuck both of you
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020
