Elon Musk responded harshly to advertisers in an interview who quit X over concerns about anti-Semitic content, ABP Live reported. Musk’s remarks, as reported by Reuters, came after he said during an interview for the New York Times’ DealBook Summit that he regretted a Nov. 15 tweet on X that endorsed an anti-Jewish post.

Musk was again criticized for endorsing a false claim on Nov. 15 by a user who claimed that Jews promote hostility against white people, citing the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. Musk described that post as the worst ever on Platform X.

Rejecting accusations of anti-Semitism, the billionaire confronted the advertisers who have left X, dismissing the idea that they could blackmail him by using harsh language directed at them to make a point. One of the companies that stopped its ads on the former Twitter is Walt Disney.

Amidst the ongoing controversy, Musk made a visit to Israel and toured the site of Hamas’ assault on October 7. He participated in a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, reiterating his strong stance against antisemitism and hate speech on the platform.

During the discussion, Netanyahu encouraged Musk to strike a balance between preserving online free speech and combating hate speech. Musk clarified that his trip to Israel had been planned independently of the controversy surrounding his message on X. The two leaders had previously met at Tesla’s headquarters in California in September to discuss advanced artificial intelligence.