Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'Adolescence' Creator Claps Back After Musk Promotes Conspiracy That Hit Netflix Series Is 'Anti-White'

Owen Cooper; Elon Musk
Netflix; ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Jack Thorne, who co-created the Netflix series alongside star Stephen Graham, shut down a conspiracy theory championed by Musk that the show is "anti-white propaganda" because it was allegedly based on a crime committed by a Black man.

Jack Thorne, the co-creator of Netflix series Adolescence, is speaking out after far-right influencers and Elon Musk promoted a conspiracy theory about the series.

In four parts, the series focuses on 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who is accused of the grisly murder of a teen girl.


The groundbreaking show has sparked discussions with its bracing depiction of how the online "manosphere," incel and "red pill" culture, and right-wing political discourse indoctrinate young boys and men into aggression towards both each other and women.

So, naturally, conservatives hate it and see it as an attack on masculinity—and have created a conspiracy theory that it is also "anti-white."

Musk cronies like Russia-funded far-right propagandist Ian Miles Cheong claim that the show is based on the "real-life" case of the Southport murders in the UK, in which a Black teenager brutally murdered three girls in the summer of 2024.

But the show was created and announced months before those murders ever occurred, not that any of Musk and Cheong's fanboys will care, of course.

Thorne addressed the rumors in an interview with the the show The News Agents, in which he called the conspiracy theory "ridiculous."

@thenewsagents

“It is absurd to that say knife crime is only committed by black boys.” #adolescence #netflix #jackthorne

He told the host:

"There is no part of this that's based on a true story, not one single part.”

He went on to say:

"It's absurd to say that [knife crime] is only committed by Black boys. It’s absurd. It's not true. And history shows a lot of cases of kids from all races committing these crimes."
"We're not making a point about race with this. We are making a point about masculinity. We’re trying to get inside a problem. We’re not saying this is one thing or another, we’re saying that this is about boys."

None of this has stopped Elon Musk from amplifying Cheong's lies, despite the fact that Musk's own Grok AI assistant posted on X to say that Cheong's claims about Adolescence are, in fact, "false."

Of course none of this ultimately matters—Cheong, Musk and everyone like them know very well that their audience will not bother to do any due diligence and will swallow their propaganda whole. That horse is out of the barn.

But should they actually decide to look into it, they will certainly find plenty of pushback from X users.





In any case, whatever Cheong and Musk are trying to do, it isn't working—Adolescence has broken viewership records at Netflix.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Dr. Sandra Lee
TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle/YouTube

'Dr. Pimple Popper' Star Reveals She Suffered Stroke While Filming Series: 'I Had A Part Of My Brain That Died'

It's already scary to witness a younger person go through a life-changing medical diagnosis, but it's especially jarring to see a medical professional, who presumably knows best about how to care for themselves, go through the same.

Sandra Lee, known as "Dr. Pimple Popper" on Lifetime, is well-known for her bedside manner, medical knowledge and ability to share her knowledge in an accessible way, and, of course, her unique approach to dermatological care.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rob Schneider; Elizabeth Banks
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images; Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Rob Schneider Dragged For Criticizing Elizabeth Banks' 'Dangerous Rhetoric' After She Called Out White Female Trump Voters

After actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks—who played Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games—called out white women who voted for President Donald Trump, MAGA actor Rob Schneider lashed out against what he referred to as her "dangerous rhetoric."

Those who've read the book and seen the film adaptation of The Hunger Games know that Trinket—known for joyfully announcing, "Happy Hunger Games and the odds may be ever in your favor!"—is a mistress of propaganda for a hostile government that forces teenagers to fight to the death every year to intimidate critics and keep society's poorest and most vulnerable in line. Trinket eventually embraces the rebellion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kid Rock
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Offering Massive Discount To His MAGA Festival Due To Abysmal Ticket Sales

Musician Kid Rock has hitched his wagon to president Donald Trump for quite some time now, and it seems he too is in the "find out" stage of that particularly exercise in FAFO.

It seems that when the president you form your entire personality around craters to a catastrophic approval rating even for him, your ship starts to sink too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dan Driscoll; Tammy Duckworth
Cheriss May/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Army Secretary Sparks Outrage After Shutting Down Army Social Media Accounts For Honoring Tammy Duckworth's Military Service

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is facing heavy criticism after he ordered that all accounts associated with the Army unit "Soldier for Life" (SFL) be shut down after the unit shared a post on social media celebrating Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's military service.

Duckworth is a double amputee who lost both of her legs in combat in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tom Homan; Pope Leo XIV
Fox News; Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty Images

Trump's Border Czar Ripped For Hypocrisy After Telling Pope Leo To 'Stay Out Of Politics'

President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was called out for hypocrisy after telling Pope Leo XIV to "stay out of politics" after he clashed with Trump over the widely unpopular war in Iran.

Last week, Pope Leo criticized the war and called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less