Gene Simmons and Neil Young leave X following controversial Elon Musk comments

ABC/Michael Desmond

Rockers Gene Simmons and Neil Young have both announced they are leaving X, formerly known as Twitter. The move comes as several companies have pulled ads from the social media site after owner Elon Musk seemed to endorse a post that included comments that have been deemed antisemitic. 

Simmons, who is Jewish and was born in Israel, simply posted, “Friends, I’ve decided to end my X/Twitter posting.” He shared links to his Instagram, TikTok and Threads accounts.

Young announced his decision to leave on his Archives website, sharing a photo of Musk with the caption, “Teslas should fly flags of love – not hate.” 

“We are stopping all use of X that we can control,” the site reads. “For reasons that should be obvious to the richest man on Earth, we are taking action against his company.”

It continued with a message to both Palestinian and Jewish friends, noting, “We do need to start over in the present and release our terrible connections to the past. 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.”

Musk has since come out and denied he is antisemitic, writing on X, “This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”

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