Rapper Ice Cube is one of many weighing in on news of the richest man in the world, Tesla founder Elon Musk, buying Twitter. The New York Times reports that Musk is buying the social media platform for $44 billion.
The “Ride Along” actor shared a post on Twitter, requesting that Musk remove his shadowban. “Free at last! @elonmusk take off my shadow ban homie…,” wrote Cube.
Rapper Azealia Banks also thanked Musk and noted she is back on Twitter after a lengthy suspension for homophobic tweets. “Oh girlssssssssss lmao we are in this b—h,” she wrote.
While Cube and Banks seemed happy about the takeover, many others were upset over the news. Activist Shaun King spoke out and noted the Tesla founder’s problematic past. Musk’s company Tesla has been hit with a racial discrimination lawsuit for harboring a racist work environment.
“Is this your king? A thread on the openly racist and bigoted environments created by @ElonMusk. Again, the man was raised by (a) white nationalist. And fostered work environments @Tesla that employees compared to Jim Crow. Which makes sense when their CEO is a son of Apartheid”
King also said that Musk’s interest in buying Twitter boiled down to white power. “The man was raised in Apartheid by a white nationalist. He’s upset that Twitter won’t allow white nationalists to target/harass people. That’s his definition of free speech.”
Musk claims that he is against censorship and is passionate about free speech. The news of the takeover delighted many conservatives, including talk show host Joe Rogan who was recently accused of racism. FOX News host Tucker Carlson, who was permanently banned for hateful conduct, also was pleased with the news, and Musk quickly reactivated his Twitter account. However, it would seem Musk’s passion for free speech doesn’t apply to everyone. Musk has already blocked the account of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.
Black Twitter also commented on the Twitter buyout and had jokes about the $44 billion takeover.
