Elon Musk blasted Lucafilm president Kathleen Kennedy for putting the “Star Wars” franchise in jeopardy by pushing “woke” propaganda in the latest spinoff “The Acolyte” — which has drawn criticism over its lead characters being spawned by “lesbian space witches” as part of the storyline.
“She’s more deadly than the Death Star!” Musk wrote in response to a post on X that pictured Kennedy as a “franchise 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁er” alongside other Empire death machines.
Kennedy — who has been president of Lucasfilm since Disney bought the film and production company founded by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas in 2012 — has defended her decision to name Leslye Headland to direct “The Acolyte,” which is currently streaming on Disney+.
In a response to another post on X that said Kennedy hired Headland because she had struggled as showrunner due to a male-dominated fanbase, Musk wrote: “Kathleen Kennedy is “super bigoted against men.”
Headland, the first woman to create a TV series for the franchise, has sought to make “The Acolyte” more diverse by casting minority actors including Amandla Stenberg, who identified as nonbinary and gay, and Korean star Lee Jung-jae.
The narrative in “The Acolyte” that has raised hackles implies that powerful witches belonging to an all-female coven — led by Mother Aniseya, played by actress Jodie Turner-Smith — used the force to generate female offspring that star as the twin main characters, played by Amandla Stenberg.
Kennedy, whose producing credits include “E.T.” and the “Jurassic Park” series, was also criticized by Musk as “bigoted against men.”
Kennedy backed Headland, telling The New York Times: “My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people.”
She said that supporting Headland was “an easy decision for me.”
Kennedy said it was “terrifying” to receive backlash from the “male dominated” fan base which has reacted negatively to recent “Star Wars” films and TV series promoting female stars including Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the sequel trilogy “The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Headland responded to the criticism, telling The Hollywood Reporter last week that she didn’t think “The Acolyte” was “queer with a capital Q.”
Disney has drawn criticism in recent years for introducing “woke” content to appeal to a broader audience.
Last year, “South Park,” the animated satire put out by cable channel Comedy Central, mocked Disney for “pandering” to audiences by promoting diversity in franchises including “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones.”
In one “South Park” episode titled “Joining the Panderverse,” the show took aim at Kennedy, who was accused of ordering the producers of her franchise projects to “put a chick in it” and to “make her lame and gay!”
In 2021, Disney fired actor Gina Carano, star of “Star Wars” spinoff series “The Mandalorian,” after a series of social media posts, including one which compared the political climate in the US to the period in Nazi Germany.
Musk, the Tesla boss who has been critical of Disney, announced earlier this year that he was backing Carano’s lawsuit against the company.
Carano, the former MMA star who played Cara Dune in the spinoff, alleged that she was booted from the series because she espoused conservative views.
She is asking the court to order Disney’s Lucasfilm unit to reinstate her in the role and seeks compensatory damages of up to $75,000 plus emotional distress and punitive damages to be determined at trial.
“The Acolyte” features a plot line that includes witches who use the force to generate offspring.
