X CEO Linda Yaccarino discussed the offensive remarks Elon Musk made towards advertisers during a "wide-reaching" and "frank" conversation on Wednesday. "We're a platform offering decisions to people," Yaccarino said in a statement. His tweets on X have caused major companies to put a hold to their advertisements on the site in the last couple of weeks. Musk advised advertisers on Wednesday to "Go to hell."
On Wednesday, during her "wide ranging" and "candid" interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York, X CEO Linda Yaccarino addressed the explicit comments Elon Musk had directed toward advertisers. Musk warned, "If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f--- yourself. Go. F---. Yourself. Is that clear?". Yaccarino referred to this as an "explicit point of view about our position." She subsequently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) late Wednesday night to share her viewpoint: "We're a platform that allows people to make their own decisions. And here's my perspective when it comes to advertising: X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street — and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our meaningful work -- Thank You."
Disney, Apple, IBM, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global and Lions Gate Entertainment removed their advertisements from X in November following Musk's agreement with a social media post alleging "Jewish communities" were causing "hatred against whites". This earned him censuring from the White House, which denounced his "antisemitic and racist hate". When interviewed at DealBook, he directly addressed Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, by saying "Hi, Bob!".In May, Yaccarino was appointed CEO of X. Her previous role had been in a global advertising position at NBCUniversal. When she was appointed, her goal was to draw back advertisers to the platform after Musk completed the takeover in 2022. In August, Yaccarino reported that brands were restoring their advertisements and should feel secure in doing so.Musk expressed regret for his inflammatory comments on X during the interview and told Sorkin that his approval of the antisemitic conspiracy theory had been "the most foolish" thing he'd done on the platform. He went on to say he was "sorry for that tweet or post".X responded with an automated answer to CNBC's request for comment. Disney, Apple and IBM did not give an immediate response.— CNBC's Lora Kolodny provided assistance for this report.Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
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