X CEO Linda Yaccarino seemingly tried to do some clean-up Wednesday after owner Elon Musk told advertisers to "go f—" themselves in an interview earlier that evening.
"Today @elonmusk gave a wide ranging and candid interview at @dealbook 2023," the chief executive of the social media platform formerly called Twitter said in a post. "He also offered an apology, an explanation and an explicit point of view about our position."
"X is enabling an information independence that’s uncomfortable for some people. We’re a platform that allows people to make their own decisions," Yaccarino added.
ELON MUSK TELLS ADVERTISERS WHO LEFT X: ‘GO F--- YOURSELF'
Musk, who bought X just over a year ago for tens of billions of dollars, used expletives Wednesday evening while explaining to New York Times DealBook editor-at-large Andrew Ross Sorkin at the outlet’s summit how he felt about companies halting X ads earlier in the month.
"If someone’s going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f— yourself. Go f— yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is … that’s how I feel, don’t advertise," he said.
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X saw some companies such as Disney, IBM, Apple and Lionsgate cease advertising in mid-November.
That happened after Musk commented an X user had "said the actual truth" after that person alleged Jewish communities have spread "hatred against whites." The tech billionaire said he was sorry for the post on Wednesday and reiterated that he condemned antisemitism.
The ad halt by companies also followed Media Matters for America reporting X ads for certain firms and antisemitic content had shown up adjacent to each other. X has since lodged a defamation complaint against the outlet over the report that it claimed left a "false impression that these pairings are anything but what they actually are: manufactured, inorganic and extraordinarily rare."
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Yaccarino went on to offer her perspective on advertising in her X post, saying, "X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street – and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our meaningful work – Thank You."
The former NBCUniversal executive also defended X earlier in the month, saying that the company has "always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board."
She officially took over as CEO in June, when Musk passed the torch and moved into a role more focused on product design and technology. His acquisition of the company cost $44 billion.
Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
