If you’re a fan of Severance, it’s probably no surprise that Severance director Ben Stiller has an ambiguous communication style. Responding to a right wing podcaster’s strange conspiracy, Stiller’s comment was so ambiguous it apparently went over his head.
Anti-LGBTQ+ podcaster Tim Pool’s latest grievance is the acclaimed AppleTV+ series Severance. Because the second season has made it one of the most talked-about series this year, Pool (like any right wing grifter with bad taste) blamed the show’s popularity on some conspiracy.
Related
Viewers are praising the emotional layers he brought to his portrayal of Milchick and the character’s complex storyline.
Pool posted a news article to X/Twitter reporting that Apple is losing approximately $1 billion a year on its streaming service. For those of us who can find little to stream on AppleTV+ that comes near the quality of Severance, this isn’t exactly a mystery.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
But when your worldview boils down to scary woke people secretly control the world, the obvious answers won’t do. “I wonder why so many people started posting about how good (it’s not) Severance is,” he captioned alongside the link. It turns out people can’t even enjoy a TV show these days without being on a payroll.
Ben Stiller, director and executive producer of Severance (yes, as in Zoolander Ben Stiller), responded to the post. He didn’t get bogged down in an argument about Apple’s finances. He didn’t comment on the show’s critical acclaim. He didn’t even say a word. He reacted with a simple geek-face emoji.
What does it mean? Pool, for one, is probably still scratching his head. “Tropic Thunder is one of the greatest films ever made. Thank you sir,” he replied. And of course he would shout out the one Ben Stiller movie with blackface.
While the comments represented a flood of right wing viewers complaining about liberal propaganda Severance (or else, woefully misinterpreting this parable of labor exploitation to fit a conservative worldview), some commenters had Stiller’s back.
“Tim Pool not liking the show, is the biggest compliment you can get Ben. You should be ecstatic,” one response read.
“Tim just tryin to ride that clickbait wave that Severance brings, knowing all us fans will come to give him the clicks to pay his bills,” another added. “Grifter’s gonna grift.”
One user summed it up the best: “Why can’t conservatives ever tell when they are being made fun of.”
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
