Lily Wachowski Remembers Telling Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump “Fuck You” Over ‘The Matrix’

More than 25 years after The Matrix changed the way people talked about movies, Lily Wachowski is still dealing with the unexpected ways its ideas have been used. The 1999 film, which she created with her sister Lana Wachowski, became much more than a science-fiction hit. Its ideas about control, reality, and breaking free from a system became part of everyday online language. One of the biggest examples is the phrase “red pill,” which has taken on a very different meaning in political and internet culture.

Wachowski recently looked back at one of the most famous moments involving that phrase. In 2020, Elon Musk posted a message telling his followers to “take the red pill.” Ivanka Trump responded with “Taken!” The exchange quickly spread online because the phrase came directly from The Matrix, where Neo is offered a choice between accepting an uncomfortable truth or continuing to live inside an artificial reality.

Wachowski did not react positively. She responded with “F** both of you,”* making her feelings very clear at the time. Years later, she has explained why the incident continued to bother her and why she believes the reference was not simply an innocent use of a famous movie line.

In a recent interview with Variety, Wachowski said she cannot personally explain the meaning of The Matrix to every person who watches it. However, she also argued that she did not believe Musk and Trump were honestly confused about what the movie represented. Instead, she viewed their use of the phrase as an example of people taking an idea and changing it to fit their own message. Variety reported that Wachowski compared this kind of behavior to the way she believes fascists can take progressive ideas and reshape them for their own purposes.

The story of the “red pill” goes back much further than Musk’s post. The phrase originally became famous because of The Matrix, but over the years it was adopted by online communities connected to men’s rights activism and later became strongly linked with parts of the political right. That change has created a strange situation for Wachowski, because something that started as part of her film’s story is now commonly used in political discussions that have little connection to the movie’s original themes.

For Wachowski, that kind of change is not unique to The Matrix. During her conversation with Variety, she pointed to other examples of famous ideas and historical legacies being reinterpreted or used for political purposes. Her larger argument is that powerful cultural messages can be taken out of their original setting and given a completely different meaning.

She also used the discussion to talk about the treatment of trans performers and creators in Hollywood. Wachowski has been outspoken about trans issues for years, and she connected the political arguments surrounding The Matrix with what she sees as a larger problem in entertainment and public life. Her comments show that the old social media exchange was not just about one tweet for her. It was part of a much bigger disagreement over who gets to define the meaning of cultural ideas.

The Matrix has always been a movie that invites interpretation. Its story about Neo discovering that the world around him is not what it seems has been connected to everything from technology and philosophy to politics and religion. That flexibility helped the movie remain relevant long after its original release, but it has also made it easier for different groups to claim the film’s imagery for their own purposes.

That is likely why the “red pill” debate has never completely disappeared. The phrase is now familiar to people who have never watched The Matrix, and many use it without thinking about the original story. Wachowski’s recent comments make it clear that she has noticed that change and does not necessarily accept it.

More than two decades after The Matrix first reached theaters, Wachowski is still watching her creation become part of conversations she never expected. Her latest comments, reported by Variety, suggest that she is not interested in staying silent when she believes the film’s ideas are being deliberately changed. Whatever people think about her response to Musk and Trump, the debate shows just how powerful and lasting the cultural impact of The Matrix has become.

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