During what she described as a “broad ranging” and “candid” conversation with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, CEO of X Linda Yaccarino addressed the explicit remarks Elon Musk made about marketers.
“If someone is going to attempt to use advertising as a form of blackmail? Use money to extort me? Fuck yourself. Go f— yourself. Is everything understood correctly? Musk, the CTO and owner of X, stated in the interview.
Musk’s remarks were characterised by Yaccarino as a “clear point of view regarding our position.”
Yaccarino stated late on Wednesday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, “We’re a platform that allows people to make their own judgements.” And this is my viewpoint on advertising: X is positioned at the singular and magnificent crossroads of Main Street and Free Speech, and the X community is strong and ready to greet you. Thank you to all of our partners that support our important work.
Earlier in November, Disney, Apple, IBM, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, and Lions Gate Entertainment removed advertisements on X after Musk expressed agreement with a social media post that charged “Jewish groups” with inciting “hate against white people.” The White House denounced Musk for encouraging “antisemitic and racist hate” in response to his remarks.
Musk exclaimed, “Hello, Bob!” to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was also a speaker at DealBook, during the interview.
In May, Yaccarino took a job as CEO of X. She was previously NBCUniversal’s chief of global advertising. After Musk took over the company in 2022, she was given the responsibility of luring advertising back to X. She remarked in August that advertisers should feel free to place ads on the platform as they were making a comeback.
Source (CNBC)
