‘Sorry what part of Gladiator 2 is woke?’: Elon Musk’s ambiguously racist post is being flamed online
Everything’s just too ‘woke’ for Elon Musk nowadays. On Twitter, Musk accused Gladiator 2 of being ‘woke,’ despite having a white, male-dominated cast set in ancient Rome.
Musk wrote on Twitter, “Woke lies kill art.” He quote-tweeted another person who had rated the movie poorly with the unfinished horse meme. While the visual design and music were passable, the story wasn’t, and Musk seems to agree with this. He didn’t elaborate further on his extremely concise tweet, which left many people rightfully confused.
How could a movie featuring men fighting to the death in the Colliseum possibly be ‘woke’? One confused Twitter user wrote, “Sorry what part of Gladiator 2 is “woke”? The protagonist is a straight white dude who embodies the “traditional masculinity” these guys supposedly go for. There’s like only one woman with a speaking part in the movie. Do they literally just mean because it has Denzel?” Essentially, they hint that Musk only dislikes that there was a black actor in the movie. Based on that understanding, other social media users mocked Musk’s apparent intolerance.
History is too woke
Having just one person of color, it seems, is enough to set racists off. Meanwhile, others speculate that Denzel Washington’s sexuality in the movie may be Musk’s issue. Given his stance on LGBTQ+ issues, it wouldn’t be unwarranted for Musk to be triggered about Washington’s character. Macrinus, the character Washington plays, is canonically bisexual in the movie. Two other characters were also confirmed to be bisexual.
Despite his whining, nothing could be more accurate than having bisexual emperors and men in ancient Rome. Many emperors were known to have sexual relations with men, with Emperor Titus keeping several male concubines. It’s as if historical accuracy no longer matters when it doesn’t pander to Musk’s worldview. If Musk wasn’t triggered by the presence of black men in the movie, then perhaps he fears the sight of bisexuals in the film. It’s hard to say which is worse.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
