DISNEY doesn’t have a friend in Elon Musk after the tech billionaire appeared to declare war on the media company after it stopped advertising on his platform X.
Musk blasted Disney CEO Bob Iger on Wednesday during the New York Times Dealbook Summit, telling the executive to “go f*** yourself.”
The outburst came as several top advertisers decided to suspend their ad funding on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, after Musk responded to an antisemitic post.
While the Tesla CEO set his sights directly on Disney during his remarks, he appeared to lambasted all the companies that have halted their advertising in recent months.
“What this advertising boycott is going to do is, it is going to kill the company. And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company,” Musk said.
“Don’t advertise,” he continued, before addressing Iger.
“If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f*** yourself.”
Musk continued saying, “Go f*** yourself, is that clear? Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise.”
Since Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, 2022, several top advertisers have stopped using the platform.
In addition to Disney, Apple, IBM, Comcast, Warner Bros, and Lionsgate have all reportedly pulled spending on the platform.
As a resume, advertising on the platform fell by 60% in September, according to Bloomberg News reporter Aisha Counts, per CBS News.
Lionsgate told CBS News that their decision was due to “Elon Musk’s recent anti-Semitic tweets.”
Musk also addressed the controversial tweet, saying it was the “worst” post he has made.
“I mean, look, I’m sorry for that … post,” he said.
“It was foolish of me. Of the 30,000, it might be literally the worst and dumbest post I’ve ever done.
“And I’ve tried my best to clarify six ways from Sunday, but you know at least I think it’ll be obvious that in fact, far from being antisemitic, I’m in fact philosemitic.”
Ultimately, the Telsa CEO said he wishes he didn’t reply to the antisemitic message.
“Essentially, I handed a loaded gun to those who hate me, and arguably to those are antisemitic, and for that, I’m quite sorry. That was not my intention,” Musk said.
Linda Yaccarino, who took over at CEO of X earlier this year, appeared to defend Musk on Wednesday calling his interview “candid.”
“Today @elonmusk gave a wide ranging and candid interview at @dealbook 2023. He also offered an apology, an explanation and an explicit point of view about our position,” Yaccarino wrote in a post.
“X is enabling an information independence that’s uncomfortable for some people. We’re a platform that allows people to make their own decisions.”
When it comes to advertising on the social media platform, Yaccarino defended X’s policies, claiming the website is at an “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,” the CEO concluded.
Ahead of Musk’s controversial comments, Iger addressed the company’s decision to pull their advertising from the platform.
Iger started off by saying he has a “lot of respect” for Musk and his overall accomplishments, according to Fox Business.
However, he took issue with Musk’s public reaction.
“We know that Elon is larger than life in many respects, and that his name is very much connected to the companies he founded or owns,” Iger said.
“By him taking the position he took in a public manner, we felt that the association was not necessarily a positive one for us.”
