When Olivia Wilde revealed that she had drawn inspiration from him for Chris Pine’s evil character in her latest feminist thriller Don’t Worry Darling, right-wing Canadian philosopher Jordan Peterson had an emotional reaction.
When asked if he is a “hero to the incel community,” as Wilde called him, during a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Peterson started crying. “Sure. why not” Peterson answered. “Incel,” which stands for “involuntary celibacy,” is a term frequently used to describe lonely young males who are frustrated by their inability to find love or sexual partners.
“People have been after me for a long time because I’ve been speaking to disaffected young men,” Peterson said. “What a terrible thing to do that is.” He then began visibly crying. “I thought the marginalized were supposed to have a voice.”
Peterson continued, “It’s very difficult to understand how demoralized people are, and certainly many young men are in that category. You get these casual insults, these ‘incels’ — what do they mean? These men, they don’t know how to make themselves attractive to women who are very picky, and good for them. Women, be picky. That’s your gift, man. Demand high standards from your men. Fair enough. But all these men who are alienated, it’s like they’re lonesome and they don’t know what to do and everyone piles abuse on them.”
Florence Pugh plays a 1950s housewife who gradually learns that something is seriously wrong with her idyllic suburban life, including her marriage to workaholic Jack (Harry Styles) and the looming presence of Jack’s boss, Frank. Wilde’s picture, which debuted last week, is directed by David Yates (played by Pine). In a recent interview with Interview magazine, Wilde referred to Peterson as “this sick dude” and a “pseudo-intellectual,” and claimed that he was the inspiration for Frank.
Peterson continued by informing Morgan that Wilde’s criticism was “low-level” in comparison to other criticisms he had encountered. He alluded to the Ta-Nehisi Coates-penned Captain America issue from the previous year in which the Red Skull, a “mystical super-Nazi” from Marvel, was compared to him.
“When Olivia Wilde made her comments, the first thing I did was check out the trailer for her movie, which I quite liked! I thought, ‘I’d go see that movie,’ and perhaps I will,” Peterson said. “It didn’t really bother me… If I had to be played by someone, [Pine] is a very good-looking man, so that’s all right. I hope he gets my fashion style choice right when he plays me.”
