The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, said on Monday that fantasy novelist J.R.R. Tolkien is “turning in his grave” over Amazon Prime’s new popular adaption of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
“Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk, or both,” the CEO of Tesla tweeted. The only person who possesses all three qualities is Galadriel.
Tolkien’s Galadriel is a female warrior elf and the protagonist of the Amazon books.
He later added, “Those who claim any criticism of Rings of Power means you’re racist are outing themselves as closet racists.”
‘LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’ BECOMES AMAZON’S MOST-WATCHED PREMIERE EVER WITH 25 MILLION VIEWERS
Some fans complained that casting non-white actors was a departure from Tolkien’s world; Hollywood Reporter contributor Richard Newby responded by saying, “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the majority of the people in Middle-earth aren’t “The most frequently heard criticism is that Tolkien failed to represent minorities in his works. This is not only false because harfoots are said to have “browner” skin, but also because Tolkien rarely made a point to specify the hue of characters’ complexions.”
Actress Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, justified the transformation of her character into a more aggressive role than she played in “The Lord of the Rings.”
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She told Variety, “I would say that her serenity [in ‘Lord of the Rings] is hard-earned. “I don’t think you can get such enlightenment without first facing adversity. I was pleased to learn that she wisely discusses the loss of innocence that occurs in the story. I mean how old are you if you’ve been around for thousands of years? She wondered what she had lost in terms of innocence, and that was it.”
The image of Morfydd Clark from “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” was released by Amazon Studios. (From Amazon Studios, courtesy of AP)
Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” have a prequel trilogy called “The Rings of Power.”
Musk enjoys reading science fiction and fantasy, and he is not shy about sharing his opinion about Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos.
They also run competing space companies, SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (AP Images)
More than 25 million people across the world tuned in to watch the launch of Amazon’s “The Rings of Power” last Thursday, making it the company’s most successful premiere ever.
Some Twitter users mirrored Musk’s critics by responding with similar sentiments, although he too received criticism for his statements.
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After being queried about Musk’s comments by a fan, “Good Omens” author Neil Gaiman — who is unaffiliated with the program — tweeted, “Elon Musk doesn’t come to me for advice on how to fail to purchase Twitter, and I don’t go to him for film, TV, or literature critique.”