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Greg Evans
May 18, 2020
In terms of odd Twitter interactions, it doesn't get much weirder than Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump being told off by one of the directors of The Matrix for quoting her movie.
On Sunday evening, Musk, who despite being a highly successful 48-year-old man, often has the social media mentality of a 14-year-old on 4Chan, tweeted 'Take the red pill.'
Take the red pill 🌹— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1589737454
Now, there are many ways of interpreting what Musk meant by this but on a ground level, it is a reference to the 1999 sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix where Keanu Reeves's 'Neo' takes a red pill, as opposed to a blue pill, that will show him what 'the real world' actually looks like and releases him from the computer simulation that he has been living in his entire life.
We can only assume that Ivanka is a massive fan of the movie and saw Musk's tweet and informed the founder of SpaceX and Tesla that she had taken the red pill.
Taken! https://t.co/Ng0S2OFC93— Ivanka Trump (@Ivanka Trump) 1589741889
Donald Trump Jr also replied to the South African entrepreneur but his tweet didn't generate the same kind of vitriol that Ivanka's did.
Welcome. https://t.co/EdkGtv69Ry— Donald Trump Jr. (@Donald Trump Jr.) 1589741474
On any given day, Ivanka and Trump Jr retweeting Elon Musk would be noteworthy but the story really opened eyes when Lily Wachowski, who along with her sister Lana made The Matrix 21-years ago, replied to the president's daughter and Musk and eloquently told them what she thought of them.
@IvankaTrump Fuck both of you— Lilly Wachowski (@Lilly Wachowski) 1589744196
Wachowski's tweet has so far been more popular than both of the original tweets that it was in reply to and although the director is clearly not happy about either of the individuals appropriating her film 'the red pill' phrase has come to mean a lot more of the last two decades.
Ivanka and Don Jr may have interpreted it as themselves and Musk adopting a more conservative approach to politics and rejecting left-wing values. It also has ties to the American 'alt-right' who have used it to describe their own awakening to right-wing political values. It also has ties to a subreddit account called TheRedPillwhich spreads the belief that throughout history, women have had easier lives than men.
Whatever the meaning of Musk's original tweet was there is no doubt that it created quite a lot of discussion and controversy on Sunday evening.
Just a reminder that the concept of "The Red Pill" was created by two Trans women in a movie about people who adopt… https://t.co/K5Mp900XOi— Rational Disconnect (@Rational Disconnect) 1589745746
Peak Twitter is seeing someone “pronouns in bio” the DIRECTOR OF THE MATRIX for a response about the red pill https://t.co/YDUW6QQepC— New Year, Same Honse (@New Year, Same Honse) 1589751136
People are giving Ivanka Trump a pass for tweeting about taking the "Red Pill" claiming she doesn't even know what… https://t.co/zRMSsPhXxK— Wajahat Ali (@Wajahat Ali) 1589751868
This insipid dimwit thinks the “red pill” must be a MAGA thing because, hey, it’s red. https://t.co/tfEDqItrzq— The Hoarse Whisperer (@The Hoarse Whisperer) 1589747397
Don’t give Ivanka Trump a pass. Every Trump supporter knows exactly what the red pill means. https://t.co/HFX2BsyjVN— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1589770932
The whole “red pill” thing is just selfishness, racism, and stupidity masquerading as political enlightenment. So… https://t.co/1chTbafQBw— Matt Fuller (@Matt Fuller) 1589747537
Even the mother of Grimes who is Musk's other half and the mother of his child wasn't impressed by his antics.
This is Grimes' mom. Thanksgiving is going to be fun. https://t.co/7i3oLnzvrO— Ryan Mac 🙃 (@Ryan Mac 🙃) 1589758505
This is hardly the first time that the Trump's and Musk have made eyes at each other in recent weeks. Recently the president said that he was in full support of Musk reopening his Tesla plant in California which would be in violation of the state's stay-at-home orders and would potentially put his employees at risk to the coronavirus.
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