X CEO Roasted For Her 'Gaslighting' Version Of Elon Musk's Chaotic Interview
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Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X (formerly Twitter), caught heat for her whitewashed recap of Elon Musk’s headline-making interview Wednesday.
According to Yaccarino, the company’s billionaire owner “gave a wide ranging and candid interview” at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit.
“He also offered an apology, an explanation and an explicit point of view about our position. X is enabling an information independence that’s uncomfortable for some people,” she tweeted.
Musk did indeed offer an explicit point of view, when he told advertisers boycotting the company that they could “go fuck” themselves.
“If somebody’s going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself,” Musk told The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin. “Go. Fuck. Yourself.”
“Hey Bob,” he added, apparently referring to Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Co. — one of many major brands that paused ad spending on X after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on the platform amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Musk’s company could lose up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of the year as a result, the Times recently reported.
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. X is enabling an information independence that's uncomfortable for some people. We're a platform that allows… https://t.co/PSmSKRkJSq
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 30, 2023
Shortly after Musk’s remark, Sorkin pointed out, “Linda Yaccarino is right here and she’s got to sell advertising.”
Musk also suggested that he won’t be the one to blame if the business goes under.
“The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company, and we will document it in great detail,” he said.
He insisted that he was not antisemitic, defended his previous efforts to backpedal on endorsing the antisemitic post, and apologized, saying it was one of the “most foolish” things he’d ever done on X.
Still, many social media users were stunned by Yaccarino’s framing of the interview, which was decried as “gaslighting.”
See some of the reactions below.
Wow. @lindayaX is suggesting that when people complain (& advertisers worry) about @elonmusk’s posts amplifying antisemitism & baseless & dangerous conspiracy theories, they’re just “uncomfortable” w/ X’s “information independence.” This is denialism mixed with gaslighting. https://t.co/1kYOqpGo1v
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) November 30, 2023
“Our position is ‘Go fuck yourselves.’” https://t.co/rl4IYWaWEB
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) November 30, 2023
lol literally everybody knows that’s not what happened #ElonMeltdownpic.twitter.com/aa63ENrwZz
— (((Tara Dublin))) Wrote An Awesome Book! (@taradublinrocks) November 30, 2023
https://t.co/uywkSAMpP7pic.twitter.com/1CTe8Sl8YF
— Christopher Ingraham🦗 (@_cingraham) November 30, 2023
Seriously? Your boss told advertisers to “go fuck yourselves” and blamed them for the devastating drop in ad rev. As someone with an extensive advertising background, I can’t imagine you did anything but cringe when you saw that. Run for the hills… #Muskhttps://t.co/xKpWjvsAdR
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) November 30, 2023
This is so dark. Amazing to watch in real time and on a global stage what people will do to their reputation and careers for money or whatever it is that she thinks she’s getting out of this. https://t.co/Xfd5yIOKWz
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) November 30, 2023
Is the explicit point of view “go fuck yourself?” Because in that case no advertiser with a functioning brain is going to think, oh, well now that you’ve expressed utter contempt for what we need from you, we’re definitely coming back! https://t.co/1tWlUKDfJu
— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) November 30, 2023
"X is enabling an information independence that's uncomfortable for some people" who don't want to be associated with deranged conspiracy theories and playing footsie with antisemites. This is victim blaming, and also delusional. https://t.co/uCgRY9TSax
— Mike Rothschild (no relation) (@rothschildmd) November 30, 2023
If you’ve ever wanted to see the most pathetic spin in PR history, here’s @lindayaX trying to do a pirouette with a petulant, anti-semitic narcissist on her foot. https://t.co/07wVpPRKHo
— Van Badham ✊ (@vanbadham) November 30, 2023
He told Bob Iger to go fuck himself, Linda. https://t.co/NdohVOl9i6
— Scott Nover (@ScottNover) November 30, 2023
Pain sponge says. https://t.co/ar9WOOQZwq
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) November 30, 2023