Elon Musk Triggers Disney+ Subscriber Exodus Post Ad Callout

According to Kobeissi Letter, an industry-leading commentary on the global capital market, there have been reports of mass cancellation of Disney+ subscriptions by the public over the call out of the firm by Elon Musk.

Ripple Effect of Musk’s Interview

Kobeissi Letter pointed out that a thousand users shared screenshots of canceled Disney+ subscriptions within a few hours after Musk’s interview at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York. The cancellation is not limited to the American multinational mass media company as users of Paramount Plus have equally reported a similar situation.

Musk sat with American journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday and he scoffed at the latest trend of advertisers exiting his X platform because of the type of sentiment that he projects on the app. Markedly, he  specifically singled out Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney in the audience by saying “Hi, Bob.”

When asked whether or not he is concerned or not about advertisers exiting the platform, Elon Musk is emphatic in his words, insinuating he does not care and would not be blackmailed. 

Furthermore, he added that his fans would end up boycotting these advertisers and in the end, the whole world would know that the advertisers were the cause of the company’s collapse. In all of these, he claimed that he did not mind being hated by these people. 

Elon Musk and Controversy

For the longest time possible, the Tesla boss has maintained a controversial profile especially when it has to do with his words. 

He was in the news recently for promoting and verbally endorsing “antisemitic and racist hate” on the X app, per a statement from the White House. Consequently, these posts have triggered advertisers like Disney and Apple to withdraw their campaigns from the X platform even after apologizing for his position on the subject.

Some popular users including Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo have also abandoned the platform. Musk has stated that his posts were not antisemitic rather, he is just holding his position on free speech.

Meanwhile, X CEO Linda Yaccarino has attempted to defend Elon Musk over his inflammatory speech to advertisers. “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 explained.