Neil Young Boycotts X Over Elon Musk’s Preceived Antisemitism
Neil Young is expressing his opposition to Elon Musk. The rock legend announced on Monday (Nov. 20) that he will stop using X, the former name of Twitter, and encouraged Palestinian and Jewish people to unite amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are ending all usage of X that we have control over,” Young stated on his website. “For reasons that should be clear to the wealthiest man on Earth, we are taking measures against his business.” The post showed a picture of Musk with the words “Tesla should fly flags of love, not hate” on top of the tycoon’s face. The statement went on, “For our many Palestinian friends and our many Jewish friends, we have to begin anew in the present and let go of our awful ties to the past. As bad as they are, they have to be erased so we can move forward in life together, all humanity, focused on saving our planet for future generations of all people.”
Young’s statement followed the tech entrepreneur’s endorsement of a Friday tweet that blamed Jewish people facing antisemitism because of the Israel-Hammas war of advancing the “exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them” and backing “hordes of minorities” to immigrate. Musk responded, “You have said the actual truth.”
“It is intolerable to echo the monstrous falsehood behind the most lethal act of antisemitism in American history at any moment, let alone one month after the most fatal day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said in reaction to Musk’s agreement with the tweet.
On Sunday, Musk clarified his position and said “nothing could be further from the truth” regarding him being antisemitic. “I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
Last month, Young revealed that he will launch a new album, titled Before and After, on Dec. 8. The album will include new versions of Young’s favorite obscure songs from his songwriting archive, according to a press release. “The feeling is captured, not in pieces, but as a whole piece — designed to be listened to that way. This music presentation defies shuffling, digital organization, separation. Only for listening. That says it all,” Young wrote in a statement.