Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi is in hot waters for transphobic tweets from 2013. The Oscar-winning screenwriter is currently trending on Twitter after reportedly getting hitched to British Pop star Rita Ora though among the celebratory wishes is a growing backlash for the resurfaced controversial comments.
A series of Waititi’s tweets have come under the scanner after social media users claimed they were offensive jokes aimed at trans people. The tweet in question goes, “No disrespect to men who want to be/dress as women. I should have just said their makeup looks manly. Also no disrespect to meth users.” And another Twitter post has the director arguing with a social media user over his transphobic comment. Since then, many have called out the MCU director, particularly since his Hollywood flicks have included trans-empowering storylines.
It should be noted that Waititi himself plays a queer character in HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death, a series he also directs. In an interview with Out Magazine, the helmer spoke in support of the trans community stating, “We’re all queer. Just to varying degrees of where we are on the spectrum I think. I think, innately, humans have all got some degree of queerness in them.” He further added, “With Thor, it’s great to be able to finally get Tessa’s character, and my character as well, where we’re both queer.”
Unfortunately for Waititi, the online fallout has many questioning why the director did not delete the tweets. Some are digging deeper through his past posts for transphobic comments on the micro-blogging platform, a Cancel culture situation that some directors have taken measures for, like Star Wars: The Last Jedi helmer Rian Johnson deleting over 20,000 tweets following the week after James Gunn’s (brief) firing from the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Readers can check out the tweets below.
No disrespect to men who want to be/dress as women. I should have just said their makeup looks manly. Also no disrespect to meth users.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) January 16, 2013
@TaikaWaititi Slut-shaming, transphobia, and immense misogyny all in one tweet? I don't like beauty pageants either, but dude: not cool.
— Caro (@carocreature) January 16, 2013
@carocreature no, it is cool.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) January 16, 2013
@TaikaWaititi My trans* friends who struggle with suicide daily due to similar comments hardly think so.
— Caro (@carocreature) January 16, 2013
@carocreature my trans friends can walk in heels. but you're right, actual kathoey are better looking.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) January 16, 2013
“Gay icon” pic.twitter.com/DqQCvYawwZ
— 𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗖Ʊ𝗥𝗬 (@theeSNYDERVERSE) August 9, 2022
taika waititi transphobic we finally got him pic.twitter.com/YF9BfK7lQb https://t.co/XMpkGikEIn
— clemmie (@ilyclemmie) August 9, 2022
mind you this is the man who declared himself a gay icon https://t.co/RqIHiW3Z7H
— alexa 🫧 (@G3TJlNX3D) August 10, 2022
More celebrities need to be as smart as Rian Johnson https://t.co/t1TSo6PMOM pic.twitter.com/Nqud4Ugzsk
— J○sef (@Slither2006) August 10, 2022
still amazed people like this have tweets like this on this site. surely some PR person's first move these days is always going to be "alright, you have tweets from before 2015? yeah? they gotta go." https://t.co/Xj8vzl0DL0
— Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) August 10, 2022
Ik this isn't good but my brothers in Christ it was like 9 years ago https://t.co/JrwOMxNn5u
— Brady Harding❓0❓❓ (@BradyHarding7) August 10, 2022
why would you not wipe your tweet history as a celeb. i usually wipe my stuff every year or so, but if you’re making money for Disney, how do you not hand your account over to a PR person who nukes anything you wrote pre-2016 https://t.co/JuGXu1FyPt
— isla 🏳️⚧️ (@DeMomolos) August 9, 2022
Nobody should have their tweets from 2013 still up, case study: https://t.co/kM4elFKGqU
— 💀 Lilith Lovett 💀 (@LilithLovett) August 10, 2022
calls himself a “gay icon” a tweeted stuff like this lmao https://t.co/aD5DZuq4Mn pic.twitter.com/QNB0hkBLhl
— reese (@bIuesykes) August 10, 2022
WELLLLLLL WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE????? https://t.co/2fyQBOQjSo pic.twitter.com/f43S6OJ4D2
— Kasey Josh 💫 (@myriadblades) August 9, 2022
Cis people who don’t like taika because he “fucked up thor” stop talking about how funny this is to you. This is actually something that hurts an entire group of people who fear for their lives daily. Don’t push your hatred for a comedy film into this topic you know nothing about https://t.co/Q6tWYZlrrl
— sqwilly 🦦 (@willbondway) August 9, 2022
I know this was 9 years ago but it's really funny. https://t.co/nNL9PkOzyM pic.twitter.com/hO9H4h4o7K
— Poe's Law : 3.33 You can (not) redo (@LivingScribe) August 9, 2022
Shout out to all my mutuals who hate him. Enjoy the victory lap https://t.co/axTGEP2pWu
— Anonymous Kaiju (@Ex_AnarchoAnon) August 9, 2022
Taika leaving whatever Disney meeting he's in as his phone starts to vibrate a little too much https://t.co/aQ3WquOxpH pic.twitter.com/ieKWh559l0
— Alex 🦩 (@LobefinnedAlex) August 9, 2022
No more Taika MCU movies LETS GO https://t.co/SiQgYgQ2nf pic.twitter.com/cPCGJqqAyY
— Gilda 🏜❄️ (@StormblessedGil) August 9, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder confirm Korg is gay and in fact, even mentions that he’s fallen in love with a fellow member from his own species, Dwayne. Furthermore, there are several instances when the movie indicates Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) is gay.
Earlier in July, the director faced criticism for queerbaiting LGBTQ+ audiences with Trans empowering elements though it was never explored except for a few teasing mentions. Many fans were disheartened that the pandering felt more like a marketing push to attract moviegoers from all fronts. Still, Marvel Studios titles have made strides in including LGBTQ references in Disney Plus’ Hawkeye and even in blockbusters like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which faced a ban in Saudi Arabia for LGBTQ+ representation.
It remains to be seen if Waititi will address the controversial tweets. Meanwhile, Thor: Love and Thunder is still in theaters.
