‘Legit the funniest thing to happen in 2022’: Knives Out fans roast Ben Shapiro for Glass Onion complaint

‘Nobody let Shapiro know about Hitchcock,’ one fan warned

Ben Shapiro has found himself the subject of widespread mockery after sharing a lengthy diatribe about Rian Johnson’s film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

The conservative pundit shared a 17-post thread on Twitter on Boxing Day, where he attacked both the writing and Johnson’s political leanings.

“I regret to inform you that Glass Onion is actively bad,” he announced.

Shapiro then proceeded to detail why he had been so offended by the Netflix film, sharing a number of spoilers along the way.

Spoilers for Glass Onion follow...

“Rian Johnson’s politics is as lazy as his writing,” he wrote. “His take on the universe is that Elon Musk is a bad and stupid man, and that anyone who likes him – in media, politics, or tech – is being paid off by him.”

Fans have already drawn comparisons between Edward Norton’s tech bro CEO character Miles Bron and Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Many were amused by the fact that one of Shapiro’s main concerns was that Glass Onion “misleads” viewers for the first half, with the pundit apparently missing the point of its murder mystery premise.

“We only find out about the actual murder we’re supposed to investigate full one hour and 10 minutes into the film, as well as an entirely new backstory,” he complained.

“Ben Shapiro being Very Very Angry that a whodunit misled the viewers in the first half is legit the funniest thing to happen in 2022,” writer Shiv Ramdas tweeted.

Writer Rachel Leishman said: “Ben Shapiro is discovering what a murder mystery is in real time and acting like he understands what writing one means and I am truly and honestly crying. This is my Christmas gift.”

She added: “I’m gonna show my 2 year-old niece Glass Onion so she can write a rival thread to Ben Shapiro’s. He deserves to have his competition be that of a highly intelligent toddler who cannot yet read. Actually, she’s too smart for him. I’m scraping this plan.”

“Sacre bleu!” editor Max Weiss joked. “A misdirection in a murder mystery? Now I’ve seen everything!”

Climate writer Dave Vetter replied to Shapiro’s thread, commenting: “I was absolutely incensed to learn that, whenever my mom plays peek-a-boo with me, she doesn’t actually disappear, she’s just putting her hands in front of her face.”

“Nobody let Ben Shapiro know about Hitchcock,” warned journalist Alissa Wilkinson, while historian Kevin M Kruse had similar concerns: “I’m worried someone is going to tell him about Agatha Christie.”

In June, Johnson explained how Agatha Christie had been a major inspiration for Knives Out.

“She never treaded water creatively,” he tweeted. “I think there’s a misperception that her books use the same formula over and over, but fans know the opposite is true.

“It wasn’t just settings or murder methods, she was constantly stretching the genre conceptually. Under the umbrella of the whodunnit she wrote spy thrillers, proto-slasher horrors, serial killer hunts, gothic romances, psychological character studies, glam travelogues.”

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He added: “When I made Knives Out, that’s what excited me about the prospect of making more mysteries with Daniel [Craig] as Benoit Blanc - to emulate [Agatha] Christie and have every film be like a whole new book, with its own tone, ambition, reason for being… and (ta dah) title.”

This week, Johnson said he felt “pissed off” about the title of his new movie.

The director explained that he wasn’t keen on having “Knives Out” included in the title of the sequel to 2019’s hit film, adding that he has tried very hard to make the follow-up “self-contained”.

You can read The Independent’s interview with Glass Onion star Kate Hudson here.