Tesla CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk slammed Disney CEO Bob Iger for allegedly thinking “it’s cool to advertise next to child exploitation material,” adding, “He should be fired immediately.”
“He should be fired immediately,” Musk wrote of Iger on X/Twitter. “Walt Disney is turning in his grave over what Bob has done to his company.”
Musk was responding to an X/Twitter user, who asked, “Why hasn’t Disney fired that guy yet?” in response to the Tesla CEO’s original post, which read, “Bob Eiger [sic] thinks it’s cool to advertise next to child exploitation material. Real stand up guy.”
In his original post, Musk was reacting to the news that New Mexico is suing Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta over allegations that the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms are steering children toward explicit content — even in cases when no interest is expressed — and allowing child predators to find and contact minors.
Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The lawsuit claims that Meta’s social media platforms are not doing enough to protect minors, and that Instagram and Facebook are “not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said.
Musk also responded to a headline about his call for Iger’s firing with one word: “truth.”
“Why no advertiser boycott, Bob Eiger [sic]? You are endorsing this material!” Musk wrote in another post, sharing a CNBC headline, which read, “Facebook and Instagram content enabled child sexual abuse, trafficking: New Mexico lawsuit.”
Notably, Disney is an advertiser who recently left Musk’s X/Twitter platform.
Last week, Musk lashed out at advertisers who withdrew their spending from his social media network, claiming that companies are trying to “blackmail” him with money, telling former advertisers “go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.”
The Tesla CEO made his remarks at the New York Times‘ DealBook Summit, where he also singled out Iger, saying, “Is that clear? I hope it is. Hey, Bob.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.