Elon Musk Slams Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy: 'More Deadly Than The Death Star'

In a recent social media outburst, Elon Musk over the weekend criticized Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy‘s management of the Star Wars franchise.

What Happened: Musk expressed his discontent with Kennedy’s leadership of Lucasfilm on his social media platform X. He referred to the Academy Award-winning film producer as “more deadly than the Death Star,” in response to a meme labeling her a “franchise killer.”

Since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, Kennedy’s stewardship has received mixed reviews from Star Wars fans. Despite initial box office successes, subsequent entries into the franchise have underperformed. The franchise’s venture into streaming has also seen mixed results.

Musk’s criticism extended to Kennedy’s focus on progressive themes and female protagonists in Star Wars projects. He accused Kennedy of being “super bigoted against men,” referring to an interview Kennedy gave to The New York Times last month.

See Also: Tim Mellon Donates $50M To Trump, Elon Musk Criticizes Biden’s Internet Plan, Russia Prisoner Swap Talks

However, Kennedy’s leadership isn’t the sole reason behind the franchise’s perceived decline. In 2019, then-Disney CEO Bob Iger suggested that the studio may have released too many Star Wars projects too quickly.

This is not the first time Musk has voiced his displeasure at what he perceives as “woke” ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. He has previously criticized fellow billionaire Mark Cuban for supporting corporate DEI initiatives.

Lucasfilm has yet to respond to the queries sent by Benzinga.

Why It Matters: Musk’s criticism of Kennedy comes after a series of public disagreements with other high-profile figures over DEI initiatives. In March, Musk had a heated exchange with Cuban over the latter’s support for President Joe Biden and corporate DEI efforts.

Furthermore, in April, Musk joked on social media that he had been appointed as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer at Disney, expressing his plans to make the company’s content “MORE woke!”

Read Next: Elon Musk Outlines Tesla Giga Texas Expansion Plans: New Data Center To Have Over 500MW Capacity In Next 18 Months To Power Own And Nvidia AI Hardware

Image Via Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari