Linda Yaccarino Responds to Musk's Explicit Remark in Advertiser Controversy

X CEO Linda Yaccarino addressed the explicit comments Elon Musk hurled at advertisers during what she called a “wide-ranging” and “candid” interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday.

“If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f— yourself. Go. F—. Yourself. Is that clear?” X owner and CTO Musk said during the interview.

Yaccarino described Musk’s comments as an “explicit point of view about our position.”

“We’re a platform that allows people to make their own decisions,” Yaccarino wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, late Wednesday night. “And here’s my perspective regarding advertising: X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street — and the X community is powerful and here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our meaningful work — Thank You.”

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

Disney, Apple, IBM, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global and Lions Gate Entertainment pulled ads from X earlier in November after Musk said he agreed with a social media post accusing “Jewish communities” of pushing “hatred against whites.” His comments drew condemnation from the White House, which blasted Musk for promoting “antisemitic and racist hate.”

During the interview, Musk called out Disney CEO Bob Iger, who also spoke at DealBook, and said “Hi, Bob!”

Yaccarino was hired as X’s CEO in May. She was previously the global advertising chief of NBCUniversal. She has been tasked with bringing advertisers back to X following Musk’s company takeover in 2022. In August, she said brands were returning to the platform and should feel comfortable placing ads.

Musk apologized for his inflammatory comments on X during the interview and told Sorkin that a particular post, where agreed with an antisemitic conspiracy theory, was “one of the most foolish if not the most foolish thing I’ve ever done on the platform.”

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