Let’s Talk About Kathleen Kennedy

What is it with all the people calling a major producer “a glorified secretary”?

A few days ago, Ben Shapiro – political commentator, conservative media personality, (not very good) aspiring filmmaker – tweeted that Kathleen Kennedy is “the worst entertainment executive in [his] lifetime.” A ludicrous statement, for at least two reasons: Shapiro himself is the co-founder and editor emeritus of The Daily Wire, whose film distribution arm openly panders to the alt-right (the first film they released, school shooting thriller Run Hide Fight, was the single worst movie I saw in the cinema in 2020); and Kennedy is hardly comparable to Harvey Weinstein (whose habit of feuding with filmmakers and mutilating their work was known even to those who weren’t aware of his sexual misconduct) or David Zaslav (whose penchant for tax write-offs has seriously damaged Warner Bros’ reputation), to name but two examples.