Say what you will about Tesla head and owner of X, once known as Twitter, Elon Musk. At this point, some celebrity has probably said it already.
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00:00Say what you will about Tesla head and owner of X, once known as Twitter, Elon Musk. At
00:05this point, some celebrity has probably said it already.
00:09Jimmy Kimmel has made his living telling jokes for decades. Shortly after the 2024 U.S. election,
00:15Kimmel took to his platform to express his displeasure with the results. Musk issued
00:18a tweet calling Kimmel an insufferable nonsense propaganda puppet, prompting a prolonged response
00:24on the next day's episode. He opened the Musk portion by addressing the tweet directly.
00:28Kimmel is an insufferable nonsense propaganda puppet. At least my children like me.
00:36This naturally transitioned into a series of critiques of Musk's social media responses.
00:40Eventually, the late night host even turned Musk's four-word insult back on its head by
00:45humorously announcing a new show aptly named Insufferable Nonsense Propaganda Puppet.
00:51Rainn Wilson is, and will almost certainly always be, best known for his award-nominated
00:55stint as Dwight Schrute on The Office. Wilson is less well-known for his charitable work,
01:00which often involves traveling to countries like Haiti to offer educational resources
01:04to locals.
01:06Wilson's fondness for Haiti contributed to his public attacks on Musk as he joined the
01:09considerable list of famous people who quit in protest. Wilson was enraged by Trump campaign
01:14claims of Haitian migrants killing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, prompting him to
01:19launch his final tweets before deleting his account. In those posts, he decried those
01:23responsible for spreading the narrative and attacked Musk for allowing his social media
01:27outlet to spread conspiracy theories. He wrote,
01:30"...Elon Musk, the world's richest man who spends all day on his phone throwing online
01:34kerosene on the fire of culture wars."
01:37Wilson charged the mogul with spreading hateful material and, quote, "...tweaking his algorithm
01:42to suit his agenda."
01:43"...Twitter has become a cesspool of right-wing algorithms thanks to Elon Musk tweaking the
01:51dials."
01:52Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have a few things in common. They're both massively wealthy
01:56and the controversial moguls of inconceivably large social media empires. They also each
02:01spend a lot of their time pursuing personal hobbies in public. There are also a few notable
02:05things that divide them. Zuckerberg never quite developed the distinct cult of personality
02:10that surrounds Musk, and their clashes in personal philosophy have led them to trade
02:14barbs, which almost escalated into a physical fight.
02:17Zuckerberg and Musk got off to a rough start in 2016 when a SpaceX rocket exploded and
02:22destroyed one of Zuckerberg's satellites. They would go on to take subtle jabs at each
02:26other about the relative power they both wield in their social media empires. While attacking
02:31Zuckerberg's Threads app, Musk playfully suggested a cage match. Over time, this idea seemed
02:36to become a genuine possibility. Musk kept adding details, claiming that the fight would
02:40stream on X and that the proceeds would go to charity.
02:43In August 2023, Zuckerberg ended speculation about the fight that never happened, taking
02:49to Threads to state that Musk was not serious. He wrote,
02:52"...I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."
02:56Chloe Fineman joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2019, and her tenure has covered
03:01one of the strangest periods in the show's long history, including an episode hosted
03:05by Musk in 2021. Quite a few critics took issue with the moguls' performance. On Watch
03:10What Happens Live, fellow SNL star Bowen Yang was asked to call out a host's bad behavior.
03:16Though he didn't say Musk's name, he did have some harsh critiques for a recent host.
03:20This host made multiple cast members cry on Wednesday before the table read because he
03:26hated the ideas.
03:27Fineman soon confirmed that she was one of those cast members, and Musk was the host
03:31in question. She posted, then deleted, a TikTok in which she explained that Musk was cruel
03:36to her because he didn't care for her ideas.
03:38"...I came in, I asked if you had any questions, and you stared at me like you were firing
03:43me from Tesla."
03:45Musk allegedly leafed through her script, berating her for what he perceived as unfunny
03:49material. The sketch in question later made it to the show, leading Fineman to compliment
03:53Musk's performance while also pointing out his rude behavior. Fineman initially kept
03:57the story under wraps, only choosing to reveal it once Musk attacked the show for Dana Carvey's
04:02impression of him.
04:04Over six decades into his career, Sir Elton John remains one of the most influential and
04:09iconic musicians of all time. John's first public exchange with Musk was characteristically
04:14cordial. Announcing that he'd be leaving X in 2022, the singer wrote,
04:19"...it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world. I've
04:23decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation
04:28to flourish unchecked."
04:29Musk tried reaching out, asking for specific examples, but John was long gone. A few years
04:35later, at the 2024 Attitude Awards, John made a playful, pointed dig at Musk from the stage.
04:40After calling him an expletive, John has kept his mouth shut about the ex-mogul.
04:45During the 2024 presidential race, Musk gradually became a figure of critical importance to
04:50the Republicans. In that process, he made enemies of some Democrats, including vice-presidential
04:56hopeful Tim Walz. Unsurprisingly, Musk became a target of Walz's ire late in the race.
05:01After his first and only debate with J.D. Vance, Walz lashed out at Musk at a rally
05:06in Wisconsin. Walz characterized Musk as Donald Trump's running mate, discounting Vance outright
05:11and tying his opponent's political ideology to that of the richest man in the world. He
05:15then proceeded to double down on his insults to a roaring crowd.
05:19"'Elon's on that stage, jumping around, skipping like a dips—'
05:24The governor's crack at Musk's habit of leaping into the air while attending Trump events
05:28got a big laugh.
05:29On a more serious note, Walz also alleged that Musk was using his massive wealth to
05:33help Trump secure support. This was a popular allegation after Musk offered checks to those
05:38who would sign a petition supporting his political action committee.
05:42Bernie Sanders lashes out at billionaires and the system that created them all the time,
05:47but he's been willing to attack Musk by name on several occasions. In 2021, Sanders sent
05:52out a tweet criticizing Musk and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, writing,
05:56We are in a moment in American history where two guys, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, own more
06:02wealth than the bottom 40 percent of people in this country. That level of greed and inequality
06:06is not only immoral, it is unsustainable."
06:09In another tweet, before Musk purchased the platform, Sanders attacked Musk's desire to
06:14take his cash and flee the planet. He stated,
06:16"'The level of inequality in America is obscene and a threat to our democracy.'"
06:21Azalea Banks is one of the most controversial figures in the hip-hop game. Given her history
06:25of high-profile controversies, it should be no surprise that she's clashed with Musk.
06:30In 2018, Banks allegedly stayed at Musk's Los Angeles home for a few days while planning
06:35to collaborate with his then-wife, singer Grimes. During Banks' stay, she launched a
06:40ton of insults against Musk in now-deleted Instagram posts. Allegedly, Grimes kept Banks
06:45waiting while comforting Musk, who was panicking after his notoriously ill-thought-out tweet
06:50suggesting he'd take Tesla private after it reached $420 a share.
06:55Banks would later attack Musk again during the 2024 election. The day before Election
06:59Day, Banks tweeted that she'd revoked her oft-repeated support of Trump largely in opposition
07:04to the Tesla founder. She wrote,
07:05"'I really think keeping Elon Musk away from any type of political power in the USA is
07:10tantamount to any issue on the table here.'"
07:13Janja Lula da Silva is the wife of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the First Lady of Brazil.
07:18The Lula family and the Brazilian government at large engaged in a legal back-and-forth
07:23with Musk over his ownership of X. In August 2024, Brazilian users found the app inaccessible
07:29as Brazil's Supreme Court ordered its suspension. The same legal body issued orders demanding
07:34Musk block several accounts allegedly spreading hate speech and misinformation, which Musk
07:39ignored.
07:40Lula spoke up in September, arguing that Musk's wealth shouldn't entitle him to enforce his
07:44ideology. Musk managed to hold out for a couple of months, criticizing the court decision
07:50However, he eventually relented, and X returned to Brazil in October. While the battle is
07:54seemingly over, da Silva still has words for Musk. During a G20 event in November, da Silva
08:00heard a ship's horn in the distance. She playfully responded,
08:03"'I think it's Elon Musk. I'm not afraid of you. F— you, Elon Musk.'"
08:06The expletive got a laugh and raised attention. It even earned a response from Musk, who issued
08:11a tweet claiming Lula would lose the next election.
08:14Michael Keaton remains one of the most beloved actors working today. In October 2024, Keaton
08:20used his sizable platform on Instagram to make a statement about Musk and the billionaire's
08:24preferred political candidate. Keaton posted a video in which he criticized Musk and Trump's
08:29character and accused them of mistreating their fan base.
08:32"'They think you're stupid. They don't want to hang out with you. They have nothing in
08:37common with you. They're not your bros.'"
08:40Keaton urged followers of both figures to see through their statements and rage against
08:44those perceived insults.
08:46Stephen King is a notoriously prolific author, with nearly 100 books to his name, but he
08:51still found time to be extremely active on Twitter. In the 11 years he's been on the
08:56platform, King made 6,301 posts, an average of one and a half posts every day. During
09:02that period, he became a very vocal critic of Musk as the billionaire bought the platform.
09:07One of King's earliest attacks on Musk came when the platform's new owner suggested a
09:12$20 monthly fee to keep their blue verification checkmark. King was quick to declare he'd
09:16abandon the platform, suggesting that Musk should actually be paying him for using the
09:21service.
09:22In September 2024, King issued a tweet about Musk's political takes. He wrote,
09:27"'Elon Musk's increasingly loopy — not to mention fictional — posts have nothing to
09:31do with politics. It's an attempt to gin up interest in X.'"
09:35King's attacks became so common that he had to dispel rumors that his account had been
09:39banned by the platform owner. Then, in November, King issued his final tweet, declaring,
09:44"'I'm leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic.'"
09:50If his jokes are any indication, comedian Bill Burr hates an awful lot of people, places,
09:55and things. This icon of the stage is well known for his prolonged rants, many of which
10:00step into controversial topics and rile up a considerable amount of anger.
10:04Way back in 2012, Burr earned some outrage with a prolonged attack on the recently deceased
10:09Steve Jobs. He attacked the Apple founder for making himself the face of other people's
10:13work, openly opining that the widespread love and admiration for Jobs was overblown and
10:19unfair. Burr would later dub Musk the new Jobs in an extended takedown.
10:23As part of a live episode of his Monday Morning Podcast, Burr called Musk every name but the
10:28one he was born with. The rant covers Burr's issues with Tesla, X, and Musk as a figure
10:33of admiration, in much the same way he attacked Jobs a decade earlier. Burr particularly took
10:38issue with Musk's appearance, even calling him Space Christopher Walken, and suggesting
10:43he must hate looking in the mirror.
10:45"'Somebody who has, like, f-----, like, Botox face and a hair system? You're gonna look
10:52at them like, yeah, man.'"