This Means War: Neil Gaiman Shades Elon Musk Amid 'Rings of Power' Dispute

Amazon's large-scale Lord of the Rings prequel 'The Rings of Power ' has certainly made waves, dividing fans across the world over whether the show upholds John R.R. Tolkien's legacy. But it's not just about regular fans anymore, as the series has prominent figures engaging in online squabbles with each other.

Among such figures was SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, who took to Twitter to lambast 'Rings of Power' over the show making "every male character "a coward, a jerk or both".

"Tolkien is turning in his grave," Musk tweeted.

There was one person who begged to differ: Neil Gaiman, the author of 'Sandman' and executive producer of this year's Netflix adaptation of the graphic novel. He appeared to enjoy 'Rings of Power' from the early screenings of which he was a part and continued to defend the show against fans who grilled it over a diverse cast.

After Musk's opinion made waves and stole media headlines, one social media user asked Gaiman what he thought of the Tesla founder's views about 'Rings of Power'. Gaiman, notorious for not shying away from critics and haters, was pretty eloquent.

"Elon Musk doesn't come to me for advice on how to fail to buy Twitter, and I don't go to him for film, TV or literature criticism," he tweeted.

This remark has actually started a twitterstorm. Many fans hailed Gaiman for his stance on 'Rings of Power', others quickly weighed in to argue that Musk was right, and some people even suggested that Gaiman has something to do with 'The Rings of Power' and therefore defends it this vigorously.

Gaiman is not part of the crew working on Amazon's LoTR prequel – something that he yet again confirmed on his Twitter account after being asked about it multiple times.

"Not really sure what to do about all of the Elon Musk people who now think I had something to do with Lord of the Rings. Do I tell them that, no, I was asked for my opinion and answered, or warn them that if they think that's bad it's a good thing they haven't watched Sandman," the author tweeted.

Musk has not immediately weighed in on what could easily become Twitter's new drama – although it already has enough when it comes to 'The Rings of Power'. Among the things that irked people about the show are its diverse cast, the fact that Galadriel is being portrayed as a warrior, and the belief of some fans that the series fails to properly adapt the source material.

Gaiman, in his turn, is no stranger to such things. 'The Sandman ' has also faced a lot of criticism over its casting decisions, with the show's cast having Black, female, and non-binary actors. The author, however, has vehemently defended the casting, with both him and OG 'Sandman' fans underlining that the choice of the actors was canon-appropriate.