Rock icon Neil Young has announced his intention to stop using X (formerly known as Twitter) due to recent antisemitic tweets that were endorsed by its owner, Elon Musk. Young announced the boycott via his official website on Sunday, 19th November.
The controversy relates to Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic tweet posted by X user @breakingbaht. The tweet 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.” Musk responded by tweeting, “You have said the actual truth.”
In response, Young wrote, “We are stopping all use of X that we can control.” He continued, “For reasons that should be obvious to the richest man on Earth, we are taking this action against his company.”
Neil Young previously boycotted Spotify due to Covid misinformation featured on the Joe Rogan Experience
Young has form when it comes to boycotting major tech companies. In early 2022, he called out Spotify’s flagship podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. He gave Spotify an ultimatum – it could either remove the vaccine misinformation or lose the Neil Young catalogue. Spotify sided with Rogan and Young’s music has been absent from the platform ever since.
In his post regarding the X boycott, Young wrote, “For our many Palestinian friends and our many Jewish friends, we do need to start over in the present and release our terrible connections to the past.” He continued, “As bad as they are, they need to be forgotten so we can be free to move on in life together, all humanity, focused on saving our planet for future generations of all people.”
Further Reading
Neil Young Claims He’ll Only Tour Again If It’s Environmentally Sustainable
Neil Young Encourages Musicians To “Find A Better Place Than Spotify”
James Blunt Warns Spotify He’ll Release New Music If Joe Rogan Isn’t Removed
