KISS’ Gene Simmons and Neil Young say they are quitting X/Twitter after Elon Musk anti-Semitism claims

21 November, 2023

Gene Simmons of KISS, Neil Young

KISS‘ Gene Simmons and Neil Young have announced that they are quitting X, formerly known as Twitter, after Elon Musk appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

Simmons did not specify exactly why he was leaving the social platform, but it’s likely due to Musk voicing his agreement with an anti-Semitic conspiracy that Jewish communities push “hatred against whites”, also known as the “great replacement” theory.

Musk replied to a post making the claims and stated: “You have said the actual truth.”

Simmons announced his departure by simply sharing: “Friends, I’ve decided to end my X/Twitter posting.”

 

Young announced his decision to leave the social platform on his website, sharing: “We are stopping all use of X we can control. For reasons that should be obvious to the richest man on Earth, we are taking this action against his company.”

Alongside the text was a picture of Twitter boss Musk with the caption: “Teslas should fly flags of love – not hate.”

The message continued: “For our many Palestinian friends and our many Jewish friends, we do need to start over in the present and release our terrible connections to the past. As bad as they are, they need to be forgotten so we can be free to move on in life together, all humanity, focused on saving our planet for future generations of all people.”

Musk’s reply even prompted a response from the White House, with a spokesperson describing the apparent endorsement as “unacceptable”.

“We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms,” said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates (via BBC).

Alongside Musk’s personal controversy, US companies like Disney and Warner Bros have pulled advertising from the platform amidst claims that ads were being placed alongside anti-Semitic content.

Musk has since said he will file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against media watchdog Media Matters and others after the numerous companies paused their advertising.

The Tesla boss has denied that he is anti-Semitic and later said his comments did not refer to all Jewish people, but rather groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other unspecified “Jewish communities”, according to the BBC.

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