“She’s more deadly than the Death Star!"- Elon Musk criticizes The Acolyte creator in a way no one expected

Elon Musk recently took to X to criticize Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm and co-producer of The Acolyte. According to him, Kennedy had ruined the Star Wars franchise by taking it under her responsibility.

Under a post by an X user named Shibetoshi Nakamoto, where they enlisted four things that destroyed the Star Wars universe, the user put Kennedy's picture and wrote "Franchise Killer" below her image. Her picture was put alongside other celestial bodies that have destroyed elements of the Star Wars universe throughout the years. The post prompted Musk to comment:

"She's more deadly than the Death Star!"

For the uninitiated, ever since Kathleen Kennedy assumed office as the president of Lucasfilm, she has often been accused of trying to push "wokeness" via her company's endeavors. Be it the inclusion of more varied characters or themes, Kennedy has often been under fire for her take on cult classics such as the Star Wars franchise.

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Elon Musk had previously accused Kennedy of being "bigoted against men"

Elon Musk's recent comment about Lucasfilm's president is not his first time putting Kennedy under fire. Previously, when she had expressed her concerns about shows like The Acolyte suffering a setback due to its male-dominant fan base, Musk had said on X:

"Kathleen Kennedy is super bigoted against men."

His comments instigated a conversation on X, where several people commented on his post.

"Definitely destroy a sci-fi icon to push cultural preferences. Remember when Star Wars was good? It's was before Disney for those who don't.." Said one user.

"The entertainment industry itself hates men." One user wrote.

"If there is a movie franchise that you know, the majority audience is male, make a film geared towards that audience." Said another user.

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What are the origins of the allegations put forward by Musk against Kennedy?

Ever since Kennedy took over as president of Lucasfilm, a production company that works closely with The Walt Disney Company, she and her company have often been under fire for their risque decisions when it comes to filmmaking.

In recent years, Kennedy has overseen the work in several projects, including the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019), Rogue One (2016), Solo (2018), and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). She has also produced various Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian (2019–present), The Book of Boba Fett (2021), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), and Andor (2022–present).

For all the projects mentioned above, Kennedy has often faced flak for allegedly ruining the projects by exposing the people to modern ideas, which some would consider too woke under the garb of inclusivity. For instance, Kennedy and The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland have landed in trouble with the audience following the recent developments in the show.

In The Acolyte, it was recently revealed that the show's lead characters were birthed by "lesbian space witches." This was unusual for most Star Wars fans, as they were never introduced to such an idea before. Many saw this as an attempt from the showmakers to push their woke agenda on the people in the name of inclusivity. They criticized their stance and demanded Star Wars be brought back to its former glory without the inclusion of modern themes.

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What does The Acolyte creator have to say about all this?

The chatter around The Acolyte being too woke or too LGBTQ+ for the audiences has reached creator Lesley Headland, who openly identifies as non-binary. During a conversation with The Wrap, when Headland was quipped about The Acolyte being "arguably the gayest Star Wars by a considerable margin," she said in response:

"I'm frankly into it."

When the same conversation was referenced during her interview with The Hollywood Reporter on June 23, 2024, Headland said:

"I was surprised by the question. Amandla and I just burst out laughing because that's our knee-jerk reaction to being asked that, but to be honest, I don't know what the term 'gay' means in that sense. I don't believe that I've created queer, with a capital Q, content."

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The Acolyte is now streaming on Disney+.