It’s an unlikely face off: the First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf against Twitter/X chief Elon Musk. The pair are currently engaged in an online spat after Musk labelled Yousaf a ‘racist’. There’s never a dull moment with him at least…
The row came about last night after Musk saw a clip of a parliamentary speech Yousaf made two years ago. Speaking just after the murder of George Floyd in the US, the then Justice Secretary remarked that the top jobs in Scotland were all occupied by (horror of horrors) white people. Since making those comments, critics have used the clip to label Yousaf as a bigot — while the FM’s allies defend Yousaf’s speech as being about the need for diversity.
But when the clip resurfaced again this week, Musk rather unexpectedly decided to wade into the conversation. Under a post of the video by an account called ‘End Wokeness’, Musk replied: ‘What a blatant racist!’ Don’t hold back, Elon…
What a blatant racist!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2023
At first, the First Minister appeared less inclined to take on the tech billionaire directly, retorting with a gif from, er, BBC Scotland comedy Still Game:
Racists foaming at the mouth at my very existence.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 27, 2023
Me: pic.twitter.com/DsKRWRhnIy
But now Yousaf has hit back at the South African entrepreneur. A statement from the First Minister’s spokesperson today read:
The First Minister has been on the receiving end of racist hate, abuse and death threats his entire life, and has stood firm against hatred and bigotry, of any kind, throughout.
Sadly, much of the racist abuse and threats of violence the First Minister faces are directed his way on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mr Musk should use his position to tackle racism and hatred that goes unchecked on the social media platform he owns.’
Ouch. That’s him telt, as the Scots would say. What will Musk do next? Watch this space…
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