Trans Matrix director Lilly Wachowski tells Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump: ‘F**k both of you’
Director Lilly Wachowski accepts award for Outstanding Drama Series onstage during the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 2, 2016 (Frederick M. Brown/Getty)
Lilly Wachowski, director of the The Matrix, has officially had it with the co-opting of “red pill” by the far-right online.
Wachowski, the award-winning filmmaker who created The Matrix and Netflix series Sense8 alongside her sister Lana Wachowski, snapped on Twitter after a discussion between Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump.
Musk, known for union-busting practices at his companies, had obliquely tweeted: “Take the red pill ?”.
He was egged on by Trump, who responded: “Taken!”
A common term among the far-right online, ‘redpilling’ referring to a rapid shift in political beliefs — named after the scene in The Matrix where Neo is asked to choose between remaining ignorant and seeing “how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”
Lilly Wachowski snaps at Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump.
However, the out-and-proud transgender woman who wrote that scene has apparently had enough of it being co-opted, tweeting at Musk and Trump: “F**k both of you.”
Fuck both of you
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020
After the burn attracted more than 150,000 likes, she followed up with a call for supporters to donate to a Chicago centre for trans people of colour, the Brave Space Alliance, adding: “Support @BSAllianceChi if you can.”
The Matrix might be one big allegory for being transgender
Since both Wachowski and her sister both came out as trans, many fans have re-interpreted The Matrix as an allegory relating to gender identity.
Lilly Wachowski addressed this reading of the film while accepting a GLAAD award with her sister in 2016.
“There’s a critical eye being cast back on Lana and I’s work through the lens of our transness,” she said.
“This is a cool thing because it’s an excellent reminder that art is never static. And while the ideas of identity and transformation are critical components in our work, the bedrock that all ideas rest upon is love.”
Her sister Lana Wachowski is currently working solo on The Matrix 4 — with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Mossset to reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity.
Speaking previously about the Matrix reboot, Lana Wachowski said: “Many of [these ideas] about our reality are even more relevant now.
“I’m very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends.”
Lilly Wachowski is not involved in the latest film — pursuing her own projects, including writing and executive producing for queer Showtime series Work in Progress.
