X owner, Elon Musk, has told advertisers that have left the social media platform over antisemitic content to “Go fuck yourself”.
His profanity-laced remarks, in an interview on Wednesday, followed a moment of contrition in a New York Times DealBook Summit interview.
Musk said repeatedly he was sorry for publishing a tweet on November 15 that agreed with an anti-Jewish post.
Musk has faced a torrent of criticism ever since he agreed with a user who falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people.
The Tesla CEO in his post said the user, who referenced the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, was speaking “the actual truth”.
On Wednesday, the X owner said he had “handed a loaded gun” to both detractors and antisemitic people, describing his post as possibly the worst he had made during a history of messages that included many “foolish” ones.
Musk’s comments have put pressure on X overall, including Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino. An executive, however, told Reuters that she would remain at the company.
READ ALSO: Musk lifts ban on Twitter political ads
In an X post late on Wednesday, Yaccarino said Musk had offered an apology and “an explicit point of view about our position.”
“And here’s my perspective when it comes to advertising: X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street – and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our meaningful work – Thank You,” she added.
Musk bristled at the idea that he was antisemitic and said that advertisers who left X, formerly known as Twitter, should not think they could blackmail him.
He said: “If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money? Go fuck yourself.
“Go. Fuck. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is. Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience,” he added, in an apparent reference to Robert Iger, the chief executive of Walt Disney, which pulled ads on X.
Iger spoke earlier at the event and said Disney felt the association with X following Musk’s move “was not a positive one for us”.
A spokesperson from Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“What I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it. And what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good while doing evil. Fuck them,” Musk said.
Musk’s comments came on the same day that U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, warned that the rise in antisemitism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war has reached a crisis point, saying it threatens the safety of Jews worldwide and the future of Israel.
“To us, the Jewish people, the rise in antisemitism is a crisis. A five-alarm fire that must be extinguished,” Schumer said in an emotional 40-minute Senate speech.
Musk’s post drew condemnation from the White House for what it called an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate”.
Musk in Israel said he is against antisemitism and anything that “promotes hate and conflict” and stated that X would not promote hate speech.
While there, he received a symbolic dog-tag from the father of an Israeli hostage taken captive by Hamas, which he promised to wear until all the hostages were free. He wore the dog-tag on stage on Wednesday.
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