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Lilly Wachowski Calls MAGA’s ‘Red Pill’ Takeover a Fascist Tactic

She says authoritarian movements twist cultural symbols to obscure their original meaning.

Overview

  • Wachowski made the comments on the Nov. 27 episode of So True with Caleb Hearon, responding to right-wing uses of The Matrix imagery.
  • She said right-wing ideology “appropriates absolutely everything” and mutates left-leaning ideas for propaganda, calling it “what fascism does.”
  • Wachowski emphasized that artists must let go of their work because audiences will interpret it in ways creators cannot control.
  • The film’s “red pill” has been recast by conservative and MAGA circles as a metaphor for “waking up,” with usage often linked to far-right radicalization.
  • She has previously described The Matrix as a transgender allegory, and some coverage notes she has called out figures such as Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump for misreading the film.