Elon Musk recently mocked Paris Hilton and her brand after she ended an advertising campaign for her personal cookware line on X/Twitter, joining a long list of former advertisers that Musk has lashed out against. Company CEO Linda Yaccarino proudly announced a partnership with Hilton’s company just two months ago.
Business Insider reports that Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter recently took a public stance against Paris Hilton’s company on his platform. This criticism comes in the wake of Hilton’s company, 11:11 Media, withdrawing its advertisements from X/Twitter.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 10: Actress and model Paris Hilton stands outside the White House on May 10, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
An effigy of Elon Musk is seen on a mobile device with the X and Twitter lgoso in the background in this photo illustration on 23 July, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In October, X/Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino announced an official partnership with Hilton’s company, promoting her personal cookware line. However, this partnership was short-lived due to concerns over antisemitic content on the platform, leading to the withdrawal of the ads, joining a long list of companies who have cut off their ads.
Musk’s critique of Hilton’s campaign was straightforward and blunt. He remarked on a post on X/Twitter, “The ad campaign wasn’t super convincing tbh… I don’t think Paris cooks a lot.” Musk has continued to attack the same advertisers he’s attempting to convince return to his platform — which he has said may not survive without advertising money. At the same time, current advertisers must be wondering how Musk will attack their brands if they withdraw advertising, even if it is a normal business decision not influenced by Musk or his behavior on the platform.
Notable companies such as Disney and IBM have also retracted their advertisements following an incident where Musk allegedly endorsed an antisemitic post. Although Musk has since apologized for this incident, his frustration and outright disdain for the advertisers who left X/Twitter have been evident.
Several key advertisers and at least half a dozen major marketing agencies openly stating their clients’ reluctance to return to the platform. The concerns are not just financial but also relate to what they believe the reputational risks associated with being featured on the platform are. Lou Paskalis, the founder and chief executive of the marketing consultancy firm AJL Advisory, commented: “There is no advertising value that would offset the reputational risk of going back on the platform.”
During last week’s New York Times DealBook Summit, Musk lashed out at companies that have joined advertising boycotts. He stated, “If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go fuck yourself. Go. Fuck. Yourself.”
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.