Wednesday, notorious Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson appeared on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” to comment to filmmaker Olivia Wilde’s assertion that the antagonist in “Don’t Worry, Darling” was modeled on him.
Wilde spoke to Maggie Gyllenhaal about the idea for Chris Pine’s malevolent character Frank in her latest psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry, Darling,” last month. Florence Pugh and Harry Styles play a picture-perfect 1950s couple residing in Victory, Frank’s utopian town. She told Gyllenhaal, “We built that character on this psychotic man, Jordan Peterson, who is the pseudo-intellectual hero of the incel world.”
During their conversation, Morgan questioned Peterson if it was appropriate for him to express his hero status to men who are “in many ways horrible.” In response, Peterson said, “Yes, why not? What a terrible thing to do, people have been after me for a long time because I’ve been speaking to disillusioned young guys.”
Then, Peterson halted as tears formed in his eyes. “I believed the underprivileged should have a voice,” he continued.
Jordan Peterson gained online popularity in the 2010s.
Photograph by Chris Williamson/Getty Images
“It is quite difficult to comprehend how disheartened individuals are, and many young men surely fall into this group. And you receive the insults, ‘These incels’ What does this entail? These males don’t know how to make themselves appealing to women, who are quite selective “Peterson proceeded. “And rightly so; women, be selective. This is your talent, man. Demand excellence from your men. Acceptable enough. But all these men who are alienated are lonely, unwilling to work, and are subjected to abuse from everyone.”
Incels, or involuntary celibates, are described by the Anti-Defamation League as “heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success.” In recent years, the word has gained prominence due to online chat rooms and violent attacks by some community members.
Peterson rose to prominence in this field in 2016 after uploading a three-part YouTube series entitled “Professor Against Political Correctness.” Since then, over 40 million people have viewed his lectures and debates on YouTube. The Guardian reports that his income is driven by Patreon and YouTube supporters.
Peterson also described Wilde’s critique as “basic.”
“When Olivia Wilde made those remarks, I immediately went to watch the trailer for her film, which I truly enjoyed. I anticipated that I would see that film, and perhaps I will. It didn’t worry me much “Peterson explained to Morgan.
Peterson stated of the casting of Chris Pine to represent him in the film, “He’s a really handsome man, so that seems appropriate.”