How The Internet Fell Out of Love With Taika Waititi

[@remib1199]

one thing i think people don’t know is that taika didn’t write ragnarok, he only directed it. that explains why the writing in love and thunder was sooo comedic and over the top. he had full creative control in a way that he didn’t with ragnarok and i guess no one thought to rein him in😭

[@wallabywayful]

He did do a draft of Ragnorak's script, and also encouraged a lot of improv on set, which is one of his hallmarks as a director. So he wasn't completely absent from that story process. He encouraged improv with Love and Thunder, as well, and in bts clips Chris Hemsworth is obviously pushing to go more funny and ridiculous in certain scenes. Based off the released deleted scenes and the last-minute Korg voiceover, I'd assume the movie is the way it is because of a) the actors over-improvising the scenes, and b) Marvel executive meddling changing some of the major plot points at the last minute and forcing Taika to come up with a way to cinch it all together. It's not his best movie and everyone has a dud, but I wouldn't say Love and Thunder is a better representation of his writing than Ragnorak. JoJo Rabbit or Wilderpeople is a better example of what he does when he's unrestrained.

[@antona.1327]

Ragnajoke wasn't good to begin with. It ruined Thor, it botched the Warriors Three and Sif, it turned Loki into a third wheel who acts like a goofy sidekick, and botched two grim and epic comic storylines. He did try to make it worse, though. If you see some of the deleted scenes from the movie that then got reshot by studio's demand, you can tell Waititi would turn the entire MCU into a Scary Movie spin-off if he could.

[@ebukaobieri]

No one thought to reign him in because they believed he could handle it, and Marvel were also waaaay too busy with all the D+ shows. It kind of highlights how they need to drastically cut down on the D+ shows. We don't need more than 1 a year.

[@Zectifin]

@@antona.1327 terrible take

[@KennethLyVideography]

I didn't love Ragnarok but I adore Love And Thunder. That is why. It was such a joy to see him let lose like that.

[@chappellgroan]

Another reason you didn’t mention is his personal life. He cheated on his pregnant wife with his PA. Then the moment he got famous in Hollywood, he left her and became an absent father to his kids, leaving them in New Zealand (although he seems to have stepped up recently). He then went on to date and eventually marry Rita Ora, who is a pretty disliked figure and the internet’s punching bag. Their attempts to market themselves as a “power couple” were nothing short of desperate. This included cringey instagram posts, hosting gigs like the EMAs, and red carpet stunts. None of these worked and it just made the internet clown on them even more. Taika is a prime example of how Hollywood fame can boost someone’s ego to the point they become insufferable.

[@Fr-ic4ue]

Like in the real world... i mean, there's always a person in the school or your job, that feels like they are the best and everyone has to celebrete their wins, when also there's a lot of people that are humble, and even if they are doing things right, they don't presume their avhievements.

[@cgoconnell160]

i was waiting for her to bring this up thank u for this comment!!!

[@HerHollyness]

Wait, this wasn’t even mentioned in the video?! I just clicked expecting this to be the main reason! Him leaving his wife and kids was when I first started to dislike him, and then him dating (and eventually marrying) Rita Ora sealed the deal for me. She’s awful and their age gap seemed super sketchy to me anyway - like he just wanted to swap out his wife for a (much) younger model. That seems to happen a LOT with egocentric/narcissistic middle-aged men like him. 🤮 Nasty.

[@peterevans6480]

how was this confirmed?

[@SicCeboo]

Pulled a Mulaney

[@martymcflown3707]

I'm going to be "that guy" and point out that Taika had basically nothing to do with the WWDITS tv series, whose showrunner was the co-director, writer and star of the film Jemaine Clement (who is also one half of the amazing NZ comedy duo Flight of the Conchords). Jemaine left the WWDITS series after season two and went on to make another great spinoff series, Wellington Paranormal. Just wanted to throw out proper credit to someone who gets overshadowed by Taika and his...Taikaness.

[@Ashbrash1998]

It's the saw thing about show business, like how George Lucas got all the name recognition for Star Wars but they don't give much to his writing partner who helped with the dialogue and passed away before she could do the prequels

[@ofthewilderwoods]

@@Ashbrash1998and his wife, who did a great deal of the editing for the original movies

[@SheFollowsMoon]

And hw voiced Tamatoa.

[@chappellgroan]

Very good point this. Jermaine has called people out on Twitter numerous times for falsely attributing everything to Taika and not giving him and his colleagues the credit they deserve. Good for him.

[@mystery_mickc]

It reminds me of Tim Burton getting much credit for directing The Nightmare Before Christmas when Henry Selick was the one who literally directed this movie

[@francoisdilinger27]

Taika should rewatch his own film BOY and figure out why he’s a good filmmaker and storyteller in the first place.

[@andshereadstoo7809]

Also hone in on who he supports because that letter ☠☠

[@ad_kk16]

I miss Rez dogs… man

[@nightmareCatnip]

I think one of the main problems with people like Taika (and Lin) is that they get famous fast (for good reason) and then get many new jobs and oportunities and at some point, people get tired of listening or knowing they have another project coming. With this, mainstream people (who know them now that they are incredibly famous) get tired of their name in everything and the fans that were there from before they became famous get annoyed that they "sold out". One other example that I can think of is Benedict Cumberbatch, he has been an actor for many years but after season 3 of Sherlock he was huge and the US started promoting him and giving him more projects (appearing even in a Marvel movie... maybe the problem is just working with a Disney property) and people got tired of his face in everything, even my mom got tired of him. In my case, I was a fan of his since Sherlock season 1 (and since I was "young" and "not like other girls") I started disliking him for getting more famous. Of course, now I dont really care but it was a huge thing for me and my friends at the time.

[@samfilmkid]

My thoughts exactly.

[@Hifelicia925]

Overexposure, for sure.

[@Ecto_42]

As someone who's autistic seeing Bendedict Cumberbatch and actors like him who get typecast typically as neurodivergent coded characters, the whole "No this character isn't this thing." has always been a sticking point, like let people project onto the characters something they see in themselves, because it's usually more out of love than anything. Like I also don't get the whole "I have to fight off questions about my sexuality." thing, but that's much more personal to the actors it affects.

[@csblakeley]

Looking at Lin-Manuel's Wiki page demonstrates a lot of this. He first found fame with In The Heights and then, ten years later, Hamilton took over. In those ten years, he did a lot of other things. Nothing that claimed the spotlight really, but it was all adding up to Hamilton. And since Hamilton, anything related to music is FEATURING LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA! He had a role in His Dark Materials, but LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA WROTE ENCANTO! AND VIVO! AND MOANA! AND... I'm genuinely a little worried that he's not going to have the time to develop to the next project because of this. Like if Sondheim had been swept up by Disney after Sweeney Todd, he may have become more famous, gotten more money, but would we have gotten Into The Woods? Sunday in the Park With George?

[@Brotherofthe4thCompany]

That’s how I feel about Margot Robbie

[@shambeolweny-pu6493]

No one gonna mention his movie 'Boy' from 2010? Arguably one of his strongest works because of how stripped back it was whilst being heart wrenching and comedic. He's got talent and style but it has been so lost over the years from corporate interests :(

[@leastselfawarepotassium]

Yeah I thought it was weird that she said he got his start from WWDITS. He made that terrible Green Lantern movie after Boy which was long before WWDITS.

[@olgaw5082]

‘Boy’ is absolutely FANTASTIC! It’s one of my favourite movies and I really wish his newer work had this kind of sensitivity to them. I guess maybe its because it’s a very personal film, that’s why it worked.

[@gracecarpinter8623]

@@leastselfawarepotassium Taika didn't make the Green Lantern movie. He acted in it, but he didn't direct. (The movie was directed by Martin Campbell, who made Goldeneye back in the '90s).

[@leastselfawarepotassium]

@@gracecarpinter8623 yeah got that wrong. Forgot this comment existed though to be honest.

[@AholeAtheist]

Didn't mention Hunt for the Wilderpeople either.

[@acemagalor2519]

Taika’s downfall really intrigues me because it really feels like all it took was the one bad movie for people to immediately turn on him in a really vitriolic way

[@Thatonegirl989]

That’s the internet for ya. Also the people that hate marvel movies with every fiber of their being, specifically.

[@BrighterThanYours]

The court of public opinion is super fickle and fake. They will turn on anyone for anything.

[@hotsexyangel]

Apparently he cheated on his pregnant wife too sooooo…

[@Thatonegirl989]

@@hotsexyangel I don’t remember hearing about this or hearing anyone say this is why they don’t like him but yeah that’s pretty shitty.

[@marvelousTUD]

No surprise there imo. People on the Internet are hateful and histrionic, and they love nothing more than an “epic rise and fall” narrative. Just look at the way nerds talked about Patti Jenkins before Wonder Woman 1984 came out VS now. They worshipped her, and now they treat her like the anti-Christ.

[@TeagueChrystie]

Lin is an interesting comparison point, because in both cases, an artist perceived (and who presents themselves) as trying to represent oppressed voices ends up seeming like their commitment to the oppressed is negotiable.

[@rascal_rae]

or maybe it's that when you uplift marginalized voices you are put under a microscope in a way others aren't

[@i.cs.z]

​@@rascal_raeOr maybe if you present yourself as morally superior people will want you to live up to it.

[@bisexualmajima]

Taika wasn't "trying", he absolutely was. Speaking as a pacific islander, the only movies about us that got any mainstream attention prior to his surge in popularity were traumafests like Once Were Warriors. The same applies across the board to most indigenous people, be it Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc. Not to say that it is in any way a bad movie or that there's anything wrong with the many great movies out there about indigenous trauma, I absolutely love that film and Lee Tamahori, but it's just nice having the option of things like Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Reservation Dogs instead of the only representation out there always being so harrowing.

[@mahogara]

A lot of people like them exist in Hollywood and other industries. They will stand with the oppresseds when and while it's beneficial for them. I remember someone commented about Mindy Kaling (and I'm paraphrasing) that she is not mad at the oppressed system; she is mad that she can't benefit from it. And it has stuck with me and I find that that's how a lot of representatives for oppressed voices act - they care but not that much and till they can get to the point where the oppressed system becomes beneficial for them.

[@TeagueChrystie]

​@@rascal_raeDefinitely.

[@selkiefluff]

At the end of the day, most people won't know the nitty gritty of Taika's life and career. I genuinely think a lot of his fall from grace in the public's eye was because people love a quirky creative person when they can label them as a "humble small artist", whether that's the truth or not; the moment they become a "mainstream celebrity", their quirkyness is suddenly seen as annoying and boastful.

[@chaoticfreshman_draws]

True

[@AntonGully]

Has he fallen from grace in the public's eye? He was on The Simpsons a few weeks ago, playing an extremely self-aware version of himself. I maintain JoJo Rabbit was genius and Love and Thunder was, at worst, "okay" but still better than 90% of every other film released that year. Hold it up against Dark World and it's a hell of a tonal shift, but maybe Dark World could have been a little goofier. To be fair, unless he's actually storming the Capitol or keeping kids in his basement, I don't expect his personal life to be perfect. If that was the case most of us wouldn't be able to function with all the imperfect people around us.

[@lolah3838]

I came to Taika around 2008 -ish through his FOTC connections. Immediately found him attractive and talented but always had the nagging feeling he was putting out some narcissism, or at least toying with it. I met him in person, we had a nice chat, he was very down to earth and cool so I squashed my previous preconception. Then I saw him do a few Q&As and he came off a a bit arrogant. Maybe he was joking? I don't know. I wasn't interested in block buster super hero whatever so I was completely out of the loop Taikawise for a number of years. Seeing how he's evolved is surprising. The preening and celeb wife etc. Watched Flag Means Death and - oh jeez, the tweeness and unfunny broad humor might have been novel in 2007 but ... WTH happened?

[@krisrose6424]

@@lolah3838 I think there's just a general Twee vibe in a lot of his stuff and maybe that has more to do with his NZ roots. Eagle vs Shark is a great example. If you look at Peter Jackson's pre-LOTR movies, there's also that sense of whimsy and silliness.

[@starrynight9873]

This, so very much this. Stay in your lane and you're fine and people will talk about how you're great and need more exposure; but as soon as you get enough (or too much exposure) these same people turn on you in the blink of an eye

[@Ghost-lt4sf]

I’m Puerto Rican, born and raised. And the criticism that LMM gets annoys me because it’s directed at the wrong things. He’s an extremely talented fellow (I was a big Hamilton fan when it came out and I still listen to Moana regularly.) But LMM is a bit of a bootlicker with a big head, lol. His relationship to the island is complex in terms of his political influence. Puerto Ricans either love him or hate him. Also his dad is a lobbyist. It’s all stuff that deserves a lot of nuance and deep dive exploration with Puerto Rico context, NOT “heehee bad singing voice.”

[@dianagrey4205]

Fellow Puerto Rican here! I definitely get what you're saying. There's a reason they protested in la UPR for his statements on PROMESA and the shit he's pulled over the years of stating pride for Puerto Rico but losing himself in a state of "The American Dream". He's definitely talented, and as a writer, I'll always appreciate his work. However, it's really important note all of these things when looking at why he deserves his criticisms, and where he needs to grow if he wants to stay as a figure of empowerment in this island.

[@Ghost-lt4sf]

@@dianagrey4205 🫶🏼 Wepa! and absolutely! Love your comment. So concise 👏🏼

[@bethanychatman9531]

As an African American I don't like the fact that he took a genre of music( Rap /hip-hop) that my people created to deal with and protest the way we are treated in this country by oppression and those that oppress us. Lin is obviously not black or African American and has used our art to make the monster's that exploited, murdered and pillage or lands and people is disgusting to me. So no matter how good the performances were it's offensive.

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

one of the arguments i've heard against him is that he's anti-black, colourist and used to say the N word.

[@GodheadNee]

yesss the lionizing of LMM and Waititi as 'diversity wins' despite them being EXTREMELY privileged and sometimes openly bigoted/biased/weird af is what really turned me off of both of them, not the quality of their work. There's a lot of nuance to why these guys garner criticism, just bc it's easier to point at a cringe lip-biting pic doesn't make it that simple.

[@mavohq]

i’m jewish and jojo rabbit is incredible in my opinion. most of the people i’ve seen who hate it either aren’t jewish or haven’t actually watched it. (also just another comment, the level of cognitive dissonance required to make a movie like jojo rabbit and then go on to sign a zionist document is just insane. i will not respond to any debates trying to convince me on why murdering over 10,000 (nearing 25,000 as of 1/20/2024) innocent civilians is ok actually.)

[@hila7404]

חיים את לא יהודיה, ואת ממש לא משלנו ❤️

[@beepboop449]

@@hila7404free palestine 🇵🇸

[@mrharry448]

Tens of thousands of innocent civilians may well be killed in the future, however at this moment it is reasonable to assume that the IDF is attempting to hit military targets and that a sizeable proportion of the body count are militarised members of Hamas. The 10,000 innocents is a completely unconfirmed figure out out by the same Hamas agency that denies there were any civilians affected by the attack into Israel. Just asking you to be wary quoting these numbers. Remember that around 1900 Hamas jihadists were killed without returning across the border. Their innocence was not in dispute

[@saragasmi88]

​@@hila7404 why? Because she doesn't support ethnic cleansing?

[@elliotts5574]

@@hila7404 אתה בוגד ואנטישמי.

[@rokhayas]

people started to hate him when he cheated on his wife "ghosted" his kids and partied with Jeremy Renner and a bunch of young women

[@Ashbrash1998]

Qasn't his kids in Our Flag means Death?

[@hajarmdn4883]

@@Ashbrash1998idk and he kinda started getting more involved with his kids but he still ghosted them for a while

[@yoru19]

​@@Ashbrash1998that was Rhys' son (his co-star)

[@jazmindodds]

@@yoru19no, in episode 6 of season 2

[@sassy1j102]

It made him look like a hypocrite on how he treated his ex-wife and kids, yet he slammed his own father for treating him and his mom the same way. Basically, what the movie Boy was about.

[@nadiak1899]

As an Indgenous person who really loved Reservation Dogs, and have seen so much support for Taikia from Indigenous communities around the globe, it really hurt to hear his stance on Palestine. I have even written about him in my university classes because of the work he's done with Indigenous storytelling. For me that was the final straw, because it felt so contradictory to the idea and messages pushed by his work about or centering Indigenous stories and characters. A handful of unfunny movies are redeemable, but I think something as reflective like a moral stance he took is much worse.

[@aceofpentacles2k]

Yes exactly how I feel, that's why i fell out of love with Taika

[@LexBlueshell]

His stance was literally “free hostages” wtf about that is wrong?! Also the Israelites are the indigenous people of the land do some research instead of parroting everything you see.

[@aceofpentacles2k]

@@LexBlueshell hilarious that you say to do your research and yet you believe that Israel, who had to massacre and displace everyone to "settle" in their "homeland", is the group indigenous to the land?? And I say this as a Jewish person who comes from a family of Zionists -so I dont even want to hear anything about antisemitism- but you have no idea what you're talking about. If Israelis were indigenous to Palestine, why do they have the highest number of skin cancer in all of the middle east? Maybe bc we are a bunch of pasty ass white EUROPEAN people who aren't connected to the land like the people of Palestine. You know where my Jewish family came from? Not Palestine, I can tell you that, we're eastern European Jews (indigenous on my fathers side) hell even Netanyahu!! That isn't even his real last name he was born in Tel Aviv but his family is from Poland. his dad changed the family named when they moved to Palestine. His last name is fucking Mileikowsky ffs The Nakba was like a second Trail of Tears and they're doing it again and everyone who focuses on H@mas or the hostages as if that justifies the thousands of men, women, children, animals who have been continually brutalized by the IDF. By the way when they released some of the hostages, they went on to say their captors treated them with dignity, on live TV! There was one hostage who when she was released on TV, she turned to shake her captor's hand, she said they had feminine hygiene products for them, they ate the same as their captors, they had their own doctors, H@mas was so concerned with them getting sick that they cleaned the bathrooms daily. As for Taika, the letter focuses on the hostages and thanking Biden "for all he has done" and his "unshakable moral conviction". What he *has* done is give Israel unwavering support and my fucking taxpaying dollars to bomb Gaza off the fucking map for a stupid fucking canal (i would look into the Ben Gurion Canal Project) and some oil bc what else is new? Why are we praising those morals? Why would Taika be praising those morals?? Either A.) Taika is willfully ignorant and it was just a silly oopsy doodle on his part which would mean he is an idiot who didnt jniw any better which I find highly unlikely or B.) That he knows and doesnt care, and thinks some hostage are more important all the Palestinian people dying.

[@aimeeinkling]

@@LexBlueshell The ancient Israelites have not existed for literally ages. Israel as we now know it was previously Palestine...home of Palestinians. The reason it's now Israel is because the British couldn't afford to keep it as a colony anymore after WWII. Stop believing that religious texts are history.

[@LexBlueshell]

@@aimeeinkling I’ve literally never believed religious texts as history but to deny the datable historical evidence that the Israelites were there is insane, the Palestinians were nomadic, and while they do have claim to some of the land, as nomadic tribes we can’t place exactly where that is. Just as we can’t look at a map of the US and say “well this land for certain was Cherokee” and draw a hard border. The Palestinians As clans they often disputed over lands and moves their lands with them as nomads. However, we can look at written historical accounts from Rome to see that the Jews occupied what they then called Judea. And that the Romans exiled the Jews around 200CE(not an exact date) It’s not as if the Jews left of their own free will, they were exiled by the colonial power known as Rome. And before you say “why didn’t they go back once Rome was gone” don’t forget by that point they had set down roots elsewhere, also after Rome there were plenty of other empires that came and went in that area, and try telling them that this is your land.

[@daylite34]

I don't work for hollywood but I work for another "showbusiness" industry and the unfortunate truth is...people sell out. People start out with genuine integrity in their work (Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Taika's contributions to indigenous representation), but it's so easy to get swept up by the overwhelming love and opportunity showered onto you by the industry, (especially if you have a tendency to develop an ego), that before you know it, you've become one of them / become their pawn A lot of the time they don't even realize it

[@ComedyBros5]

It's not even showbusiness though. I can tell you a few different folks in the town with a population of 30k who sell out (seemingly genuine, good people who get revealed to have been up to some not good things). It's just easy to pick apart and see it when Hollywood people are in the spotlight.

[@adammyers7383]

Hi I am Jewish and Jojo Rabbit is incredible and imo actually quite respectful

[@misteryA555]

Also Jewish and agree. I don't understand why people are bothered by the movie. Because the nazis act like (very over the top and kind of stupid) nazis? The whole point of the movie is Jojo learning his views of Jewish people are bigoted and unfounded. It's important for us to see the kind of headspace he started in for his character arc to be meaningful. And I feel like the nazis are never glorified or treated with respect, which is the other trap people fall into. They're protrayed as normal people doing very silly things- because fascism is at it's core ridiculous. The only nazis framed heroicly are two closeted gay men purposefully obstructing their government. And to me Elsa is some great representation. She's allowed to be angry and bitter and human about her situation while still being entirely sympathetic. And she gets her happy ending, which is very nice.

[@adammyers7383]

@@misteryA555 but it also doesn’t turn them into something not worth taking seriously. It makes fun of the ideology without undermining what makes it dangerous. That’s a balancing act a lot of Nazi depictions don’t strike

[@musicandlove516]

im jewish (and israeli, my whole family is there) too and i know taika (cohen) has made mistakes but i simply cannot deny the positive effect he has had on me in these times of war. grateful he signed the petition noa tishby put out signed by all those celebrities. (here come the anti-jewish existence having a place in israel/colonizer comments even though my grandparents is arabs who were kicked out of tunis and libya SIMPLY FOR BEING JEWS along with thousands and thousands of other arab jews) anyway i hope youre doing okay these days. *hug*

[@musicandlove516]

also is this video worth watching? please let me know. im hyper sensitive to criticism of jewish folks lately.

[@adammyers7383]

@@musicandlove516 totally get that, but yes it definitely is. It’s not criticism of Taika so much as a breakdown of the criticisms he’s received

[@brooklynboogie4477]

Please keep making your "How the Internet fell out of love with" series. Regardless of the negative and positive reviews you get, people are watching and your perspective is relevant and necessary.

[@Xehanort10]

I bet the negative reviews are from obsessive fans of the celebrities she talks about who think them liking films, shows or games the celebrity was in or music they made somehow makes them saints.

[@brookb5890]

I am convinced that Taika did not want to make another Marvel movie, at least not on the timeline that was demanded, but he couldn't get out of the contract without taking a really big hit, so he decided to phone it in and approached the whole production like a joke. "Guys let's just have fun and make the worst movie."

[@samfilmkid]

It totally felt like a troll movie to me too. I kind of love it for that though

[@dagfinissocool]

You're giving him way too much credit

[@bisexualmajima]

IIRC he said in some interview while promoting the first season of OFMD (without naming names but it was pretty obvious he was talking about Marvel and the heavy bluescreen usage) that he'd felt like he'd lost some of his passion for filmmaking and was loving being on "an actual set" again and basically felt revitalized by it. So yeah, he was definitely phoning it in with Love and Thunder and even if the movie sucked, I can't say that I don't find sticking it to Disney like that pretty funny lol.

[@Alexa-bp8rm]

Would he also be phoning it in for his indigenous soccer movie passion project? I think he actually wanted to make a good movie, it just didn't work.

[@TheGoddon]

I don’t buy that theory at all

[@samfilmkid]

It feels like where he's putting most of his effort into right now is his performance as Blackbeard/Ed on Our Flag Means Death. He is so good on that show, downright Emmy worthy, it reminded me of why I loved him so much in the first place. Everything else feels a little less focused, I think he's got too many pots on the boil. You can't star in an ongoing series AND direct multiple movies and expect equal quality across the board. Also over-exposure inevitably leads to people getting sick of you. But you can't deny all the opportunities he's given other creators with his name attached. It doesn't seem like he pulled the ladder up after him when he made it to the top.

[@bisexualmajima]

He's not the strongest actor around (even by his own admission lol) but Ed in the Red Flags episode might be some of the best acting I've seen out of him. Really fantastic episode.

[@halane4790]

@@bisexualmajimaHe does have star charisma though, and he is stunning. That can carry you a long way!

[@RebecaReyes-vl3nq]

I agree. He seems to have put a lot of effort into this role and we can all see it. I think this is what makes everyone fall for him.

[@antonizajkowski9698]

I actually thought his acting in THAT scene with Izzy in s2 was pretty bad. Like I could SEE him trying to act

[@stephanies5873]

I think his acting in OFMD is definitely Emmy worthy. He is so good. I agree with you that he has given so many creators opportunities and the fact that everyone who works with him sings his praises is worth noting. He got the opportunity for Sterlin to make Reservation Dogs and he credits Taika for that opportunity. Taika has long term relationships with people from his early days and they continue to work with him. When you see the film credits, he uses so many people from his early days. It's really special and I admire him.

[@daphneblake13]

Cole Sprouse would be an excellent subject for this series!

[@nafeeyk3340]

omg i remember his cringy tumblr “social experiment” where he would post the most shitty “””poems”””😭

[@emdove]

​@@nafeeyk3340 wait, didn't his brother have an insta Account dedicated to something like that? Shitty fanart of himself? I can't quite remember, only that I thought it hilarious. Wonder if that'd still hold up today 😅

[@sentientplant9658]

That would be a 5-second video that would just be "Look at his Tumblr"

[@AnitaLife27]

I love Taika, esp his amazing performance as Blackbeard. But I’ve been following his “downfall” and part of it for him is his big mouth. He’s accustomed to living on the outside and saying whatever crosses his mind. He gave a vanity fair interview where he said some things about his heralded “untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars project”. He joked about being fired, he had no idea what he was going to write, he asked Natalie Portman if she would be interested in a Star Wars project, and of course, he proved himself to be entirely CLUELESS about anything Star Wars. So, soon, Disney and Kathleen Kennedy had to do clean up and even claim his movie would be out in 2023. 😂 (it was pushed back to 2025, now 2026…probably in the Gravy Basket). Most recently Taika’s tone deafness and big mouth was in a bts promo for OFMD. He said they moved the second season to New Zealand because it was cheaper to produce because no unions. It was incredibly stupid and insensitive during the actors strike. The promo was re-edited to remove his misstep. His personal life is pretty messy, and he did sleep with Tessa apparently, in a 3 way. I don’t care who he sleeps with, but from Disney’s standpoint, he and Rita slept with an employee…and that can bite Disney in the butt…and not in a fun way. I just wonder how long before he squeezes out more hot garbage like love and thunder because he believes his own hype. His work in OFMD is incredible, and it seems he does better with others’ input. As far as losing “Ivan”, they apparently had a 40% budget cut for 2nd season OFMD. Taika insisted they move the production from LA to New Zealand. So, they chose to remove one Muslim American because Taika always hires his friends and wanted to make it a NZ project. But how long before it’s M Night S. All over again. I’ve seen it happen so many times, and I doubt he’s immune. He can be a force for GREAT entertainment, but he can also be the 900 lb gorilla and smash everything due to poor judgment and ego.

[@stephanies5873]

I think many people don't understand his Kiwi humor. He is just a genuine guy who speaks sometimes without thinking because he is comedic. Tired of the rhetoric about his personal life when that is speculation at best. you and the rumor spreaders can't possibly know he slept with Tessa in a 3-way.

[@starrynight9873]

Yea, Taika "insisting" they move the production to NZ so they can even afford a s02 because HBO cut their budget radically is....terrible? Oh no, wait, it's the opposite of that. It allowed us to have s02 at all. Also does Taika hiring nz actors -and essentially often giving jobs to indigenous people who probably wouldnt make it in big productions if it wasnt for him - somehow also seem terrible to you? Of course he's casting friends. Everybody, if given the choice, would cast at least part of the talented people they personally know because being close with somebody also means you know why they deserve to be recognized for what they do. People perpetuating rumors about Taika having anything to do at all with Guz Khan leaving the show is getting really tiring.

[@vikdaddy]

He used to seem humble yet quirky, and now seems arrogant and over-the-top. Like he plays to the camera. He crossed the line from endearing to irritating.

[@itsmartinside7248]

I took a photo with him a few months ago and he was very friendly

[@strawberryqueen0382]

We desperately need one of these videos on Arianna Grande.

[@andshereadstoo7809]

Omg yes 🖤

[@vicariously143]

Was anyone ever actually in love with her?

[@CrystalTW]

@@vicariously143 Well they all want to get married to her/leave their partners for her. Her engagements to Pete and Dalton happened pretty quick, and so did the tattoos they got for her.

[@SplatterInker]

Interesting series. For me, hearing about Rita Ora, and seeing his... tbh awkward jokey behaviour. He strikes me as someone who artistically thrives when given boundaries (i.e. tight budget), and personally actually does not entirely believe anyone really genuinely loves him. His humor is clearly how he deals with personal anxiety. And I've always read it as someone who is confident in who they are as a person, but not in whether that person will ever be fully accepted. I also think he has a much bitchier edge lurking that he uses humor to distract people from. So, I got this vibe that he's someone who's probably hella fun to work with, associate with etc but is always going to be on guard and not entirely open. I.e. I wouldn't want to get too close to the guy because he's mercurial. Which can be an amazing quality but it can also turn on you, FAST

[@Emu1121]

Thanks for the overview on this, Kayla! As someone who loves consuming queer media and doesn't have twitter, I appreciate your sacrifices in keeping us informed on these discussions. Here's to hoping you get the engagement without the firestorm!

[@user-qo2jv1tz8i]

Oh, you should definitely do Misha Collins. He was peak tumblr 2013 culture and was one part of an insanely popular ship in the show Supernatural. He’s gotten under fire for several things since the show has ended, especially his politics, his view on his character Castiel’s ending, and comments on bisexuality.

[@undeadsweetheart7508]

This!!

[@kenzieham]

I’m curious about this because I forgot about Misha Collins after 2015

[@mastermarkus5307]

Huh, I didn't know he had bad politics because I just... stopped watching Supernatural at season 8 because I started realizing that the bad writing had just become cyclical at that point.

[@caitlinjones8716]

i still follow misha and j2 and I've heard way more about j2 beefing or getting in controversy for politics than misha. genuinely wondering if his view on the character and politics backlash is from republicans bc that I've seen but he's a v progressive and active dude politically. very much /srs

[@spntageous5249]

Misha Collins literally went to the war in Ukraine

[@juice6479]

I started getting bad vibes from him when he made made fun of the bad CGI in Love and Thunder. Given that all the artists at Marvel were being massively overworked and underpaid and he just trashed them like that… it made me feel weird

[@jfm14]

Hmm... good point.

[@erbsplays3869]

I thought the thing with him and his wife kissing Tessa Thompson was a pretty big turning point on his public image. Disney and other execs I'm sure were not happy about any non-traditional relationships or drunk party flings in public/photos, which effects his opportunities which leads to less love from people because he's not in big budget stuff. But also the term "power dynamic" and our understanding of that in a post me-too world - the writer/director making out with an actress is generally an ick for people.

[@jmckenzie962]

Taika Waititi used to be a very compelling director. Since I'm from New Zealand (and the same city that he grew up in, at that - like, one of my brother's high school teachers was literally his fucking mother), I knew of him long before most people. Back in the day he used to make really good indie films that were set in NZ and really spoke to some aspects of kiwi life in some way. "Boy" is a charming and heartwarming comedy-drama about growing up Māori. "Hunt for The Wilderpeople" is a truly excellent and wonderfully kiwi take on the "old man teams up with juvenile delinquent" genre. "What We Do In The Shadows" - the most famous of his pre-Hollywood films - is an absurdist take on vampires that also serves as kind of a love letter to Wellington - I seriously feel like a certain chunk of that movie gets lost in translation if you didn't grow up here. So seeing him go from making these absurd-yet-heartwarming depictions of kiwi life to making Marvel capeshit and seemingly selling his soul to the Disney Corporation honestly felt kinda painful as someone who felt his movies used to really resonate with me. I also felt kind of confused by "Jojo Rabbit" - I appreciated that film's message, but I felt it could've been executed far better. I feel like he's gotten too in bed with corporate Hollywood now to the point where no film he makes can ever really be the same again, which is a massive shame really. I respect his cause of supporting indigenous filmmakers, but between his own films growing increasingly subpar, his incredibly disappointing stance on Palestine, and the fact that even just seeing him and Rita Ora together makes me wince, I feel like he himself is a good representation of neither New Zealand nor Indigenous cinema anymore.

[@stephanies5873]

I love his films so much and I don't resent him for needing to make some money by signing on to do two Marvel films. He didn't seek them out or even want to do them. They were not his vibe. People are criticizing every move he makes and I think they are misunderstanding him. Speculation is just that.

[@sunburnspiastri]

hunt for the wilderpeople has gotta be one of my fav movies ever

[@TinyTurtleDuck]

Honestly I was completely fine with him until he signed that anti-Palestine letter recently

[@rascal_rae]

same. not excusing the transphobic comments 10 years ago, like, I was transphobic 10 years ago before coming out as trans and growing as a person, so I understand people can change. But when I saw he signed that letter... oof

[@smokeypokey9270]

was looking for this comment, fr

[@karlkarlos3545]

Since when is being anti Hamas a bad thing?

[@ofthewilderwoods]

@@karlkarlos3545some people take it too far and become anti-Palestine. In Israel, all Palestians are worse off than second class citizens, despite not all Palestians supporting Hamas.

[@keannalewia8862]

​@@karlkarlos3545theres a difference between regular people and a terrorist group.

[@alanahpatterson9645]

I think that Taika would have really excelled in the 2000s with media similar to Sacha Baron Cohen’s projects ✨

[@maki55556]

you mean the racist crap he was doing inciting even more that the middle east is a baran wasteland plus the fact that he is very pro israel and went out of his way to paint them in a good light?

[@h.g.warrender5529]

You should do a How The Internet Fell Out of Love With John Mulaney! You and I were in the same school together, one with a major comedy program, and people used to be obsessed with him but that’s gone downhill fast since his divorce.

[@starrynight9873]

Has it? Truly? I mean maybe the hype is not what it was, but I've never heard of him getting into trouble (drugs aside) and from what I've seen he's still quite loved

[@antoniotorres1674]

When I was in film school, his short films were used as examples in classes of how to make thoughtful well written films with very few resources. Nowadays he has become the typical hollywood sellout that believes his films are actually better and smarter than they actually are... and on top of that it turns out he isn´t actually such a nice guy, so he pretty much became just one more of the hundreds of very questionable people in hollywood.

[@deskinem_rooted]

Very good video! As a Kiwi and Māori, Taika has a very special place in my heart, largely from from his more NZ centric work. Especially Boy, which is such a personal and touching representation our (mostly) unique experiences and how we react to them. So, it’s hard to ever consider him a “bad or untalented person” I guess, despite any other evidence. The tone deaf aspect rings very true though, and I can only internally defend it as “just Kiwi humour” for so long. Also curious on your opinions regarding OFMD season 2. Since it was filmed in NZ and had plenty of Kiwi, Māori, and Polynesian characters/ side characters, I was giggling through the whole thing like a big idiot. Auntie was a favourite of mine. I know a few “Aunties” just like her in real life. I know the season wasn’t perfect though.

[@reiy8401]

I loved Auntie!!! My housemate is Navajo and also found her really familiar and awesome 😊

[@bisexualmajima]

Fang is such a favourite of mine haha

[@smurfyboy92]

Justin Timberlake would be a good case to do a video on next

[@kaylasays]

wait damn this is such a good one lol he's going on my list along with chance the rapper

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

YES PLEASE! Especially if todd in the shadows doesn't do a trainwreckords video on him.

[@paytonriley6981]

⁠@@kittykittybangbang9367I’m *so* looking forward to seeing Todd cover Man of the Woods on Trainwreckords. Especially after Britney Spears’ book came out detailing how absolutely awful Timberlake treated her, his career might very well be over now, if it already wasn’t over before.

[@cthulhuintheway]

I can't really help but not care about celebrities or their opinions anymore. No one is infallible, and they all have appearances to keep and execs to appease. I don't think many people in Hollywood are super genuine. On top of that, people idolize them and put them on pedestals like they always have, so when they do something just a little bit wrong to their fans' eyes, it's off with their heads. Fans are as hard to please as the Hollywood execs. It all just seems so meaningless to me. Don't get me wrong, as an indigenous person myself, I love that Taika has brought attention to some of our issues and appreciation to our cultures. I don't idolize the guy though. Another thing, in the late 2000s/early 2010s, fucking everyone was saying slurs and being generally "offensive." I know plenty of people who called their friends their n words who wouldn't even think about uttering it now. Times have changed, people have changed. I don't hold old, stupid senses of humor over anyone. People can learn and grow.

[@wolfwatch9731]

personally i didn't have a problem until he cosigned that open letter to biden. i didn't like him all that much, but more in a "his stuff isn't really for me and i don't get the hype" way. but given his history of speaking out against colonialism and imperialism, seeing him support israel made me really disappointed. can't imagine how people who were actually fans of his feel.

[@lucygp7379]

Great video! I been a huge fan of Taika’s work since What We do In the Shadows so it’s definitely been disappointing to see him drop off, especially since he has featured a lot of queer characters in his work. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping he’ll make a comeback

[@rascal_rae]

Seems like when you uplift marginalized voices, you are put under a microscope in a way other entertainers aren't. As a trans person, I understand how important it is to give folks the time and space to grow, so the 10+ year old transphobic tweets get a "meh, whatever" from me. However, I did find his recent signing of that anti-Palestinian letter extremely disappointing /:

[@jfm14]

Well said, I agree.

[@yowaikemen]

"Anti-Palestinian" to want hostages back from the clutches of demons. Unbelievable. If the Palestinians cease to exist is because of people like you.

[@Patchouliprince]

I think these days people forget it’s possible and easy to just enjoy someone’s work but not them as a person. I don’t know how I feel about him as a person but I do enjoy some pieces of work he’s created. That’s pretty much my entire feelings on it. Folks get too invested in people they put on pedestals and it only leads to disappointment and upset when you realize that person was just a person. I speak from experience of course so no shame I’m just stating something I noticed

[@vanyadolly]

Yeah, a lot of this comes down to parasocial attachment to and moral outrage. People aren't perfect and they're never going to perfectly mirror your opinions.

[@czarnoksiezhnik]

for me the problem is when I know some actor (for example) did something shitty in real life, when I see them on screen its going to be my first association with them and that makes the experience worse, even if I never put them on a pedestal in the first place

[@Patchouliprince]

@@czarnoksiezhnik That’s a good point- and always such a crappy experience

[@ComedyBros5]

@@Patchouliprince I share your same mentality. I try to just watch movies and shows, and avoid following anything actors/actresses/directors/writers are up to outside of it. It's hard to avoid anymore in this age of social media. But, I've found that it's still possible. I enjoy Tom Cruise films but his Scientologist beliefs weird me out.

[@mjdally82]

He lost me forever when he threw his visual effects team under the bus when Thor love and thunder flopped

[@mrkeogh]

Another Taika film is _Hunt for the Wilderpeople_ from 2016. It's genuinely very good, but with his later work you can see the exact point at which he separated from his wife (who is quite a well-respected documentary maker) because his ideas and portrayals become increasingly detached from any grounding or realism, and just plain *annoying* at times.

[@Ice_elite]

why does everything with Taika Waititi's family remind me of boy

[@kathleenhartnellharper7234]

I will say that I saw a scene in a Palestinian hospital where a little girl was screaming in pain from wounds suffered in the retaliation. She was wearing a bright pink shirt with a unicorn on it. Talk about heartbreaking.

[@timotea7109]

Doesn’t fit the prompt of this series per say but you should def deep dive Wendy Williams as a tv host/gossip news

[@lasloapollo4312]

Wendy is such a mess😂😂😂

[@phoebevaughan5095]

I never liked Wendy but now I feel sorry for her. She clearly needs help, and people are just laughing at her.

[@lasloapollo4312]

@@phoebevaughan5095 Gurl... Wendy outed rappers in the 90s and destroyed their careers. She is such a mess. It is Karma in it purest forms.

[@lollydolly4590]

I LOVE this series sometimes I know a thing or two about these peoples’ controversies but there’s always a lot I don’t, and you’re very nuanced with it

[@vampirelove75]

I’ve felt very iffy about Taika for a long time. I have loved so much of his media. What We Do In The Shadows is one of my favorite films of all time and Our Flag Means Death IS my favorite television show (that being said Taika is only part of both those pieces of media as WWDITS was co directed and OFMD is created by someone else) But I’ve watched lots of interviews and behind the scenes and Taika kinda gives me vibes as a person and he’s done some things that really make me feel icky, especially cheating on his pregnant wife. I still think everyone should watch Our Flag, even if it’s in spite of Taikas evolvement because it really showcases so many amazing queer performers and genuinely a great show.

[@boneymacaroni13]

It's my new favorite show ❤🏴‍☠️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️

[@hotdogburp]

I'm not fully understanding the clip of Taika and Tessa Thompson and how that was a slight on VFX workers, can anyone explain? I can't really decipher what Tessa and Taika are saying

[@clairedohhe1789]

I dont really get it either but look at her neck

[@Gawler]

I don’t get it either, lol. I think kayla got the wrong clip maybe

[@yvehooson9262]

The clip used here really doesn't show what caused the controversy. VFX workers have been under huge pressure to work insane hours because movies in the big budget "Superhero" mould now completely over rely on VFX to 'fix" things that possibly not that experienced directors can't figure out during the shoot. The movie cinema debut is already booked, and these people are put under incredible pressure to make the film work. So when that last Thor film he did came out I think it was still being worked on right up to the wire. They were having to fix things that he, as the director, should have fixed with better planning and attention to the script, but he likes to free wheel and make stuff up as he goes along.... next thing the news is full of how all VFX workers are doomed because AI will come and do their jobs faster and cheaper.... in the clip Taika was showing some of the not so stellar efforts of the stressed out VFX guys and taking the piss!!! It did NOT go down well. Perhaps the studios should be getting the shade though, he should never have been put in charge of such a massive budget film in the first place when all his previous directorial work was either TV or small budget personal films. I guess the first Thor was a fluke and everyone just got carried away and forgot he really didn't have enough experience. I think that is Taika Waititi's problem, he got carried away with his own hype and started to believe he was untouchable, hopefully he will eat some humble pie and go back to the stuff he is genuinely good at.

[@hotdogburp]

@@yvehooson9262 ty for this explanation, i now see how that clip does seem like they are making fun of vfx for not changing her expression when the scene changed direction (like her facial expression i guess made more sense when the scene was supposed to play out differently) and that is definitely 100% not on vfx to monitor and audit all script and scene changes on top of being incredibly overworked, that is ridiculous

[@cordeliaistheone]

@@hotdogburp Kayla showed the wrong clip; there are definitely more VFX critical comments he made at the time; the clip here is more of a critique of the editors and maybe his own directing

[@Circiely]

I remember when Thor: Ragnarok came out, everyone was fawning over him, and I know a lot of people thought Taika was going to bring a new age to Marvel movies altogether (this isn't a general statement, just personal encounters). I don't know anything about him, but when the second Thor: Love and Thunder came out, it was like a witch hunt, and I could never guess why. He was so beloved only a month prior (at least to my knowledge; again, I knew nothing about him). This helped a lot with my curiosity, but all I can really say is...yikes.

[@cdemarzo]

I think another really good video for this format would be how the internet continues to fall in and out of love with Azelia Banks, especially after she just called Troye Sivan a pedophile for…… complimenting one of her songs

[@mattking68]

The pain etched on Chris Hemsworth's face from all the pretend laughing at Taika's schtick.

[@AuntyKsTarot]

You forgot Reservation Dogs. As a Lakota I loved it...also as a Lakota his stand with settler colonial israel is a deal breaker and "fell outta love". Hope he is removed as co-producer from Reservation Dogs.

[@Tommyland27]

Not a Waititi hater but I’m worried about him directing the live adaptation of akira, very popular manga that arguably pathed the way for anime to the west.

[@chunkysalsa6264]

I think Taika's biggest issue is that he always wants to write comedy first and foremost, but doesn't think of how it interferes with the tone and genres he works on. He directed the eighth episode of The Mandalorian, in which there's a scene where two stormtroopers keep trying to shoot a can on the ground. It's a little funny, and an obvious reference to the "stormtroopers never hit their targets" joke in the Star Wars community. But all the times stormtroopers don't hit their targets are just plot conveniences for the main characters to get away. Canonically, they're supposed to be highly trained soldiers. That Mandalorian scene implies they're completely incompetent and the Empire should've been defeated easily.

[@Thatonegirl989]

I’ve strangely seen a lot of people say they don’t like him, I think it’s because of Thor love and thunder.

[@Fr-ic4ue]

He overused the comedy that Thor Love and Thunder, made Tropic Thunder look like a serius film. I think that comedy, isn't bad itself but when there's no other element to contrast it. Man, we have a problem

[@BetweenGraces]

I think there’s also something to be said about the standard internet online people hold men of color vs white men. Because it truly feels a bit ridiculous

[@ames-inthe-grass]

@@triplea7536shut up lmao

[@BetweenGraces]

@@triplea7536 uh no that’s not why

[@BetweenGraces]

@@triplea7536 you realize I’m saying that men of color are held to higher and more unfair standards than white men right.

[@spliffyrodgers4266]

​@@triplea7536you're the person thats bitching and moaning

[@lemonace6695]

​@@triplea7536 your lack of nuance is genuinally shocking. The point is not "diversity is wrong" but that the lack of disversity causes minority groups to be judged with way more scrutiny. There's thousands of white actors and directors around so no one feels like they represent their race, but thanks to the lack of diversity celebrities of color are seen as representatives of their whole comunity and so everything they do is seing by the lens of "how will this impact our comunity" and obvously a single person ,no matter how talented, can't do that. Comunities are too plural. So no diversity is not the problem. Is a mix of having the bar for white man be too low and wanting a single man of colour to be petfect because he is literally all his comunity has in the form of visibility. Edit: That's not completely about Taika as I do consider the sionism a totally valid critic and is the reson I, myself, dislike him (tho not his creations, with the exeption of the Thor movies but I stoped liking the MCU when I stopped being a kid so...). Edit 2: English is not my first language so I'm really sorry for any egregious grammatical errors.

[@cherrydreampalladin9784]

Unrelated but I didn't know Thor Love and Thunder was THAT hated. I thought the movie landed on the "mixed reviews" lane

[@markgundle4150]

Too much of a good thing. Goofy comedic Ragnarok Thor was a step in the right direction, but the powers that be saw how much we enjoyed it and took it to the extreme to the point where Thor almost feels like a completely different character.

[@Iacedrom54]

Taika took some of the most serious Thor arcs, completely ruined them and wasted Bale and Portman in the process, and he seemed proud of how little he cared about any of it. If that's what he wanted to do, that's his call, but people are free to hate the movie because of that.

[@gabgabatz]

I would love to see more of these "How the Internet Fell Out of Love of X" series, keep it up!

[@libRteedude]

I've never been a fan of Waititi (his brand of comedy has always been annoying to me), but I could at least acknowledge there was some talent behind his various projects and that he did seem passionate about them. But once LOVE AND THUNDER came out and that video of him being dismissive towards the visual effects artists came out, it suddenly clicked with me why the guy's whole persona rubbed me the wrong way. He acts like he's still that quirky, flippant indie filmmaker who made WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, but he's had Disney bucks backing his career for almost a decade now. He's not an underdog filmmaker, but an annoying bigwig who swaggers around like he owns the place, and that's not an endearing attitude.

[@tanks7774]

I remember around this time last year when ofmd started getting big, I was telling everyone who would listen that Taika would face the Lin Manuel Miranda effect within the next year or so. And now here we are lol. I gotta say, I generally like his work and as a trans person take no real offense to any of his tweets or current material, I just really wish people would stop moralizing their dislike of popular media. It's okay to not like something popular. You don't have to dig through an artist's personal life to justify it on a moral level. At the end of the day, none of us know this guy except through his work, so it seems silly to me that people can absolutely adore or absolutely despise him on a personal level. He's just some guy and is probably as shitty as any other celebrity. His influence on the world at large is pretty small and it's really not that deep.

[@latequilera22]

People need to stop idolizing celebrities. Ita sick and just plain weird. They are human beings with flaws. No one is spotless. Like really.

[@moeezS]

That sucks if they dropped Guz Khan from OFMD because of his pro-Palestinian views. With Taika signing that pro-Israel letter, it could be the case. Guz is a real one. Taika hasn't made anything as great since Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

[@2dan4me97]

what the fuck, Guz Khan is the shiiiiiit

[@kristinalfc5846]

Also Con O'Neil is another zionist pos

[@smyers9052]

Pro Israel or anti-hostage taking? Please explain.

[@katjagorter953]

Guz actually confirmed this wasn't the case and there are many actively pro Palestine people on ofmd, like vico, madeleine (also his good friend).

[@aimeeinkling]

I was a devoted Taika fan. I truly believed he was the next real auteur. After JoJo Rabbit, whatever it was that he had started to fade. The only explanation I could come up with was that he was (as my father would say), "high on his own supply." When he was an indie director, surrounded by like-minded performers like Jemaine Clement, he was fantastic, with a distinct style. When he shifted to being a Disney/Marvel/Star Wars darling, his professional and personal lives suffered. While I'm not crazy about his political views or his position when it comes to the war, my feelings about him as a filmmaker comes from seeing his recent work.

[@mitchwheeler2233]

I genuinely enjoyed and defended him but him being a Zionist is a deal breaker for me. He's supporting genocide and there's no black and white to me. To me that's not subjective and will age terribly. That being said, I really appreciate your video.

[@NEAZ24]

Being anti-Zionist is hate speech. Antisemite.

[@keemstarkreamstar7069]

Huh I wonder why so many people in Hollywood are Zionists. Must be those darn evangelicals… Is it possible to be any less aware of the world than you are?

[@bethanymcmurtrey9542]

Taika Watiti works by channeling other directors. For JoJo Rabbit, he channeled Mel Brooks and Guillermo Del Toro. For Thor Love and Thunder, he channeled Raja Gosnell and Gor Verbinski.

[@jasonpbass]

often times we have a real problem separating the artist and their art. do i like roald dahl's stories? yes. do i like roald dahl? no. that's how i choose to see most artists. they might produce work that means something to me but that's where the relationship ends. Eagle vs. Shark will always be a quirky entertaining love story that i genuinely adore and i really don't care who wrote or directed it.

[@MadameCorgi]

You can't separate art from the artist, art is a product of the artist's experience and beliefs so comes through in their work E.g Roald Dahl was a racist and that comes through in characters like the 'oompa loomoas'

[@jasonpbass]

@@MadameCorgi i specifically mentioned Dahl in my comment. you can and absolutely should separate art and artist. if you get something out of a work of art, music, literature, etc, that's your relationship with the work...not the artist. the artist gets something completely different from their own work.

[@winifrededen5333]

well you see he made a movie about a genocidal dictator and then came out as a zionist 💀

[@keannalewia8862]

😅

[@NEAZ24]

Antisemitic comment. Reported.

[@smyers9052]

Did he?

[@maytale.7184]

I will say Reservation Dogs he co created is a fantastic show through and through and ended perfectly. I recommend anyone to watch it 🙏🏽

[@vinnie830]

I liked Taika for "Boy", "hunt for the wilderpeople", "What we do in the shadows" and some other stuff. And dropped off when he started making movies for Marvel (this was a huge waste of a talent and skill). I was honestly thinking of him being the next Tim Burton of our age but he felt for the same thing - flew up too high and collaborated for big names making bad popcorn movies. I'm not sure he will be able to make less commercial but "wholesome human movies" anymore because now he needs to live up to his status . Oh well, whatever...

[@Bpaynee]

Suddenly just wondered how this series would feel about Oscar Wilde of he were in our time 😂 something tells me he would have made us feel very complicated, haha

[@stagewalker]

After "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Ragnarok" Waititi was a name that I was eager to see whatever came out next. I didn't love JoJo Rabbit, but I respected it. Love and Thunder, and some of the things I've seen from him in interviews and whatnot have cooled that a bit for me. Knowing that he directed but did not write Ragnarok, compared to Love and Thunder, suggests that a little Taika goes a long way, but "no limits" Taika is just waaaaay too much for my personal taste. I compare it to Lucas, who did amazing things when he had budget constraints, but the more limitless his creative control was, the less anyone could say "um... maybe let's try something different", the worse his work became (in my view). So, that's him as an artist. As a person ...I don't know him as a person. His persona in interviews though... he feels exhausting.

[@zzodysseuszz]

5:14 what the fuck are you talking about. It’s the diametric opposite. Whenever a minority writer makes any kind of film it’s met with insane amounts of studio praise and support even if it fucking sucks really bad, but when people criticise it they’re dismissed by the studios and defended by the media. But if say Quintin Tarantino makes a film the media finds way to label it sexist or racist and calls his fans incels or something. There is no extra pressure, there’s actually not enough pressure

[@DrClocktopus1]

Never realised it before but seeing him move without hearing him speak is giving cocaine constantly

[@Minam0]

Checks out as he apparently does cocaine constantly

[@yc0995]

For me, I didn't stop being a fan because that Thor movie was bad (It gave me the psycho goats and I love them) my beef with him is how full of himself he got and he talks about indigenous issues but he really doesn't act to solve anything and most recently came out as being zionist.

[@sassy1j102]

I never understood why he is given this platform on speaking on indigenous issues because he just regurgitates what has already been said and done, and doesn't bring anything original or substantial to the issues. One can give him some props for Boy and The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, but he seems to have retreated from that indigenous narrative and moved on to a different headspace

[@yc0995]

@@sassy1j102 because people seem to believe he's famous therefore he must be smart lol

[@sassy1j102]

😄Nice read on basic human psychology:"Just follow the shiny object".

[@BradsPitts.]

Nothing wrong with being zionist

[@c.c.8450]

I think he was better off as an indie filmmaker, in the same way Lin Manuel should have never gotten past "In the Heights" levels of fame. Also he's a kiwi, being from a country where everyone enforces tall poppy syndorme all the american praise and the stronger american coke got to his head.

[@cookkeh]

okay but please make the video about S2 of OFMD because i feel like you would do justice to the issues surrounding it

[@yessica4932]

by 'issues surrounding it,' i sure hope you mean the 40% budget cut that left the creators, cast, and crew with less money, two episodes slashed, and some inherently affected pacing issues, not the death you didn't like

[@jainee4507]

He has a cockiness and arrogance that only works if his films are actually good. Thor Love and Thunder changed everything.

[@stephanch.5821]

"Everyone like Korg!" He should have died for good in Thor 4

[@devenscience8894]

The start of me "falling out of love" with him was his meandering, egocentric, borderline unhinged TED Talk, which was so cringe, I watched the respect-o-meter go down on him for every minute that he rambled on.

[@laurie8857]

I think Boy was what really kicked him off - not internationally, but without the success of Boy I don’t think anything else would have followed. I think Taika always had it in him to be arrogant, but his culture kept him in line. Put him in Hollywood and he's lost.

[@Bonzulac]

"The fanbase fell out of favor with Taike Waititi" means that Waititi doesn't like the fanbase anymore.

[@KickflipDave]

I’m glad this channel was recommended to me. Thanks for the work you put into your vids!

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

I still like What We Do in the Shadows, Jojo Rabbit And Thor Ragnorok. But unfortunately he’s just gone off the rails lately with his movies and it just doesn’t have the same touch of care that’s needed.

[@Hippolyta.]

I didnt realize the internet turned on Taika.

[@thisisnancybot]

Ahem. Your statement about no one liking The Dark World was false. Exactly one person digs The Dark World and that person is me.

[@vicg2652]

Comment for the algorithm gods. But for the record, I actually really like the projects of Taika’s I’ve seen and this has nothing to do with anything, but he’s really cute. If he’s actually secretly a creep, my bad. I think BIPOC creators are held to a way higher standard and it’s weird as shit that there are people rooting for their failure.

[@АннаВасюкова-м1ъ]

The best thing he has done is helping Reservation Dogs be made. I doubt that without the hype around Taika the project would have been launched and/or attracted so much attention. BUT it is not his show, it is Sterlin Harjo's baby.

[@GodheadNee]

once a dude wears a pastel suit with no shirt underneath they're too far gone and coked out to be saved. (Unless you're in an R&B band. That's the one exception, but it's still thin ice.)

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

I'm inclined to give him a tremendous amount of grace on account of the massive pressure involved with being in his shoes, but he is certainly wrong about Palestine, and he does come off sometimes as insufferable. Just another flawed human like the rest of us.

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

@@triplea7536 I guess you didn't watch the video

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

@@triplea7536 If you think he was right to sign the pro-Israel letter then that's your business. I don't think he should have signed it. Israel is an ethnically segregated, Jim Crow-style society that is doing active harm to innocent people. Hamas bad. Terrorism bad. Settler colonialism bad. Genocide bad. This shit isn't rocket science.

[@koguma8823]

​@@triplea7536you're completely delusional if you think people like taika who have all the influence in the world should be speaking up against a group like hamas instead of AN ONGOING GENOCIDE AGAINST COUNTLESS INNOCENT CIVILIANS

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

@@triplea7536 The country you're defending is one of the most openly bigoted and hateful societies on the planet. Good people aren't going to stand for it anymore.

[@scarlettdamante4945]

08:08 can someone please explain this clip? Its meant to be about VFX but not only did I not see any mention of that it seemed like the woman did the talking and he just laughed? What exactly about that clip is him showing any opinion on VFX editors? So lost on this one

[@stephanies5873]

People just like to exagerate and speculate. In many many interviews, Taika sings the praises of VFX editors and talks about how talented and hard working they are. Tessa brought up the issue and he thought it was funny especially because he hadn't noticed it. It's ridiculous to berate him for that.

[@heymistercarter.]

Wait, how it is people fell out of love with Taika Waititi of all people? *Anthony Fantano* “This, uh, this new Taika Waititi movie, it’s… it’s NOT GOOD.” *EXPLOSION*

[@StedeBonnetsCravat]

Might be the whole "cheated on his pregnant wife" thing, too.

[@АннаВасюкова-м1ъ]

It is sad how hollywood brain works like Oh we've found this ONE POC person, he is sooo unique, let's parade him around. Like... the example of Taika should have made them think Damn, not only white americans in hollywood have talents, let's encourage creatives from different cultures. But instead Taika is treated like this fetish object of their supposed diversity and I think it messed with his brain and ego, cause in NZ he was working within his own culture and with his pre-fame friends who humbled him, and now he is just hollywood's poster boy for 'diversity' whom their patronise and keep around just to say But we are sooo progressive, look, we have a Polynesian director!

[@smyers9052]

The idea that his success makes him a "fetish object" is entirely your masturbatory projection. Who, exactly, did even the equivalent of lining up and saying "we are sooo progressive, look, we have a Polynesian director"? As though the same talents that you mentioned earlier might, I don't know, be the driver of his success? Lol, he has a unique brand of humor. So does Wes Anderson. Both of them have carved out very specific careers, and both have struggled to match the tonal sweet spot of their earlier films. I mean, the very fact that you BELIEVE his rise to prominence is BECAUSE of his race, and not his ability, is so obviously and ironically bigoted and cringey that it would be funny if it weren't so strikingly disappointing. What a lazy take.

[@vbittencourt]

Jojo Rabbit is amazing, and correction: it won the adapted script Oscar. Thanks for trying to explain why Taika is in the hot spot, but at the moment I still dont get it.

[@AstraeaAntiope]

Most of the people who complained about it didn't even watch it. Some don't even find out what it is about, they just hear "Hitler" and write it off.

[@dameanvil]

1:01 🌟 Taika Waititi is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian known for works like "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Jojo Rabbit." 4:18 🔄 "Thor: Love and Thunder" faced criticism for being too silly and lacking substance, marking a misstep for Taika in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 8:20 🤦‍♂ Taika's controversial tweets, including comments on a beauty pageant, have sparked backlash, especially from LGBTQ communities. 11:21 🎬 Recent film "Next Goal Wins" has faced criticism, including allegations of a transphobic scene, affecting Taika's reputation. 13:28 🌐 Taika's recent signing of a letter related to the Israel-Palestine conflict has led to accusations of being on the wrong side of the cause. 14:20 📉 The video concludes with a retrospective on Taika's representation and the subjective nature of falling off in the public eye.

[@mariokarter13]

It's the George Lucas problem. Imagine, by way of analogy, your favorite author who seamlessly blends all manner of out-there ideas into a cohesive masterpiece. He gets celebrated as a literary genius, eventually he starts to believe his own hype. Unbeknownst to the public he's just the ideas guy and the actual genius of the work is in large part due to their world-class editor. He cuts the editor loose and his unfiltered vision gets released to the world. It's absolutely terrible because there was no one there to separate the good ideas from the bad.

[@inversebrah]

The Palestinian issue is the easiest way to expose someone's hypocrisy. Waititi can spare us his fake activism about indigenous people now.

[@KonstantinZilberburg]

the indigenous take on such a long and complicated conflict is the weakest point, as the israeli can be considered as much indigenous, as palestinians. it’s not a racial conflict either

[@mariodude345]

@@KonstantinZilberburg If Israelis were indigenous they wouldn't destroy natural elements of the land.

[@KonstantinZilberburg]

@@mariodude345 what elements? desert? or a swamp?

[@skylinesandturnstiles9595]

​@@KonstantinZilberburg the sea just recently. poisoned the air and the sea yeah. i understand its a complex issue and i totally get why the creator didnt get into it but at this point if you are someone with some sort of power over people even just in terms of media, and you dont call for a ceasefire in the least, im not supporting you

[@KonstantinZilberburg]

@@skylinesandturnstiles9595 which sea? there’s three of them in the region. so far palestinians have far more media support, but that’s not the case, we’re talking about “indigenous” aspect which is inaccurate here

[@Geo_Babe]

Hunt for the wilder people is one of the best movies ever made. Ever. He should revisit it and remember why he was good at filmmmaking and do that again! I’m surprise you didn’t mention the Rita ora relationship. That one felt like a marketing idea to put a spotlight on them both.

[@emcvideoproductions500]

I’m not one who likes to make baseless assumptions on someone I don’t know, but I’m sure Taika Waititi is a genuinely talented person who has seemingly let his fame get in the way of what got him there in the first place. It feels like he’s being enabled a little too much but what do I know?

[@bijibadness]

oh, I know this one. the internet fell out of love with Taika Waititi because he wrote and Directed _Thor: Love and Thunder,_ which has the highly ignominious distinction of somehow being the _worst_ product in Marvel's infamous Phase 4. because he wrote and Directed a movie that not only relentlessly mocked the characters and dramatic stakes its audiences loved but really just made a prolonged and hyper-obnoxious joke out of the entire business of care, caution and respect for source material. and base audience intelligence. and then, before it came out, he went on the internets with one of his stars to mock the hasty special effects work done unto his disastrous movie. it's not complicated. only his intentions are complicated. _Thor: Love and Thunder_ wasn't an accident -- things that expensive and expertly-crafted don't happen by accident. they have to be crafted into the things they are over many many months of hard work. oh well.

[@ShadowSonic2]

Love and Thunder was actually better than Thor 2 and tied with Thor 1. Certain people were just mad that it wasn't all about Gorr and only him and the Jane got any story at all because of the "women bad" mentality.

[@Moncherelouis]

people calling jojo rabbit offence must not know he’s jewish

[@rileyjay7283]

I saw the movie and the transphobia where he deadnames her results in a physical altercation and then an apology from the coach for not respecting her name. I actually found their relationship and portrayal to be really heartfelt and wholesome.

[@coastaf]

Didn’t get how he was negative to vfx workers in that clip, can someone fill me in I’m dumb and grateful