Elon Musk is facing backlash after he slammed Ridley Scott’s new blockbuster Gladiator 2 as “woke” and that “lies kill art,” with no context to his criticism.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur, who played a key part in helping Donald Trump get re-elected as president of the United States, is no stranger to attempting to pass himself off as a connoisseur.
Recently, the 53-year-old showed a poor understanding of the film Starship Troopers and was roasted by rapper Cardi B after he branded her a “puppet”.
Now he’s set his sights on Gladiator 2, starring Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, which received mixed reviews upon release.
Responding to a meme on his X/Twitter platform, which suggested that the film’s visual design was strong, while the script was poor, Musk said: “Woke lies kill art”.
Now, it’s hard to ascertain exactly what element of Gladiator 2, Musk thinks is “woke” or if he has even seen the film.
The movie features all the spectacular and bloody battles, that featured in the Russell Crowe original, a strong white heroic lead in Mescal and now has added CGI sharks and baboons, which although historically dubious, don’t scream “woke”.
Perhaps, Musk was rattled by Denzel Washington claiming that there was a “gay kiss” in the film, that got cut, or that those in power are always essentially corrupt?
Musk’s ambiguous take on the blockbuster has prompted a lot of backlash and many, many questions about what part of the film he considered “woke”.
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One person joked: “The only remotely political message of Gladiator II is that emperors are bad and wealthy plutocrats who whisper in their ear are even worse…oh wait I see what he’s mad about.”
Another noted: “The movie is about a warrior learning to love and improve the empire he’d grown up hating and protect it from an enterprising queer African freed slave, who wants to destroy the empire using the chaos of a public riots. Difficult to call that plot woke.”
A third person asked: “I’ve never seen this chap understand a single film he’s watched. How is a film about a straight white man, with little to no roles for women and minorities, woke?
“Gladiator 2 is not woke, sir. If anything, it’s a traditional depiction of masculinity,” added a fourth.
Musk’s feelings about the film don’t appear to have impacted its performance with audiences, as both Wicked and Gladiator 2 have debuted with an astounding $169.5 million in combined US ticket sales, making the past weekend a huge success for a struggling box office.
The Independent has contacted Musk for comment.