Rock star Jack White tore into billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk on Monday for allowing former President Donald Trump back onto the social media platform.
“Absolutely disgusting, Elon. That is officially an asshole move,” the White Stripes founder wrote to Musk on Instagram.
White accused Musk of “trying to help a fascist have a platform so you can eventually get your tax breaks,” saying he was “a believer in free speech” but wouldn’t “let the KKK hold a rally at our record label’s performance stage.”
“That’s one of the platforms we control and have a say in, it’s not town square operated by the government,” he explained. “And if I owned a gas station, I wouldn’t be selling the KKK gasoline to burn crosses either and then wash my hands as if I didn’t help facilitate hatred.”
“You took on a big responsibility with your purchase, and ‘free speech’ isn’t some umbrella that protects you from that,” White warned.
The musician acknowledged his previous support of Musk and his work with electric automaker Tesla.
Musk deserved “a lot of compliments in that department,” said White.
But the entrepreneur has now “gone too far” using his power “to promote horrible, violence-inducing liars who are taking the country and the world backwards and endangering the democracy that made you rich and successful in the first place.”
Read White’s full message to Musk.
Trump was booted from Twitter following his incitement of the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021. He’s previously said he wouldn’t tweet again but instead will focus on his own Truth Social venture.