Major studios boycott X after Elon Musk’s controversial tweet

A long list of major movie and TV studios, from Disney to HBO, have pulled advertising revenue and stopped posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, after owner Elon Musk shared a controversial message. 

Division over the Israel-Hamas war has arisen in the entertainment industry in recent weeks, with Netflix receiving backlash after Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp was seen posing with friends holding “Zionism is sexy” stickers. 

Following the news that Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7 for a series of posts she shared about the conflict, supporters have been comparing her situation with Schnapp’s.

Now, a number of major studios are taking action against X after a tweet was made by the social media platform’s owner, Elon Musk. Warning: Some may find this content distressing.

Major studios boycott X after Elon Musk’s controversial tweet

Studios including Marvel, Warner Bros., Star Wars, Sony Pictures, Disney, Paramount, HBO, Universal, and Lionsgate have all stopped posting on X/Twitter after Musk shared a tweet agreeing with an antisemitic post. 

The original post said: “Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” and “western Jewish populations” are “coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much.”

Musk replied, “You have said the actual truth.”

X/Twitter

After major businesses including Apple paused advertising revenue from the platform, Hollywood’s production companies have followed suit. Many of those, including Marvel Studios, Warner Bros., Star Wars, Sony Pictures, and Disney, haven’t posted since November 16 or 17, shortly after Musk’s response. 

A spokesperson for Lionsgate, which is currently promoting the release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, said in a statement (via Variety) that it “has suspended advertising on X because of Elon Musk’s recent antisemitic tweet.”

The outlet reports that Disney and Comcast NBCUniversal are also believed to have stopped promotional spending on the site, while a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said it has “paused” its already minimal presence on X. 

X/Twitter

The news about Comcast NBCUniversal is particularly significant as Linda Yaccarino departed her role at the company as chair of global advertising and partnership to join X as CEO. 

Amid the Musk controversy, she wrote: “X has been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s absolutely no place for it anywhere in the world.”

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