The Matrix co-director Lilly Wachowski is once again taking aim at right-leaning audiences—this time by declaring that conservatives who use the term “red-pilled” are essentially embracing fascism. The comments surfaced during a recent interview highlighted by The Post Millennial, generating fresh debate about who really owns the cultural language surrounding The Matrix and whether its two creators understand the modern meaning of the phrase they helped inspire.
In the So True with Caleb Hearon interview, Wachowski (a biological male who identifies as a female) accused conservatives of twisting political language for their own purposes.
Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix (1999), Warner Bros.
“So right wing ideology appropriates absolutely everything,” Wachowski said. “They appropriate left wing points of view, and they mutate them for their own propaganda, to obfuscate what the real message is.”
That leads to the now-famous term “red-pilled,” which has become shorthand for the moment someone begins questioning establishment narratives. Conservatives have adopted it enthusiastically—much to Wachowski’s frustration. According to the filmmaker, this is no accident but part of a broader pattern.
“This is what fascism does,” Wachowski said. “And so, of course, that’s going to happen. They do it with absolutely everything.”
Lilly Wachowski speaks at an event – YouTube, Entertainment Tonight
Wachowski didn’t stop there, arguing that even basic discussions about biological sex are not legitimate, framing them instead as propaganda.
“This idea of, you know, putting scientific gender in the words of our, I mean, we’re, where are they putting this?” the dirctor asked. “‘There is only two biological genders.’ They’re calling it science, but it is not science, right?”
The irony, of course, is impossible to ignore. The term “red-pilled” originated directly from The Matrix, where choosing the red pill meant waking up to the truth about a constructed reality. That message resonated with audiences across the political spectrum long before Wachowski’s recent criticisms. Today, the phrase is commonly used to describe anyone—left, right, or center—who begins questioning elite narratives. But now Wachowski insists that the people most associated with the phrase today are somehow subverting its original meaning.
Lilly Wachowski being interviewed by Collider – YouTube, Collider
Wachowski went on to bemoan fan interpretations of The Matrix more broadly.
“I look at all of the crazy, mutant theories around the Matrix films, and the crazy ideologies that those films helped create, and I just go, What are you doing? No! That’s wrong!” Still, Lilly Wachowski admitted that creators can’t control how people interpret stories, whether liberal or conservative, saying, “You’re never gonna be able to make absolutely every person believe what you initially intended.”
For many conservative readers, these latest comments by Lilly Wachowski are likely to reinforce the very meaning of “red-pilled”: waking up to realities that powerful cultural figures prefer the public not question. The idea that everyday people who simply use a pop-culture term are “fascists” will strike most as a stretch—if not an outright attempt to shame political opponents into silence.
And this is where the cultural friction remains sharpest. The phrase red-pilled didn’t become popular because conservatives wanted to distort a movie’s message. It caught on because millions of people—across political lines—connected with the metaphor. A creator insisting audiences “got it wrong” long after the fact doesn’t erase 25 years of cultural impact.
Lilly Wachowski being interviewed by Collider – YouTube, Collider
If anything, Wachowski’s interview may only ensure the term remains alive and well. Every time an artist tells audiences they’re not allowed to interpret a story in a certain way, that audience tends to push back. It’s practically human nature. And that’s something no amount of scolding will change.
How do you feel about Lilly Wachowski and these comments about conservatives? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
