Well, well, well, it seems Disney has conceded another battle in its war of woke righteousness.
Bob Iger’s Disney and other entertainment behemoths have quietly crept back to Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), resuming their ad spending after a dramatic fallout last year. Apparently, the temptation of reaching X’s massive audience was just too much for these woke corporations to resist—even after Musk famously told advertisers fleeing the platform to “go f— yourself.” You just can’t make this stuff up.
Reports indicate that Disney, Comcast, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros. Discovery collectively spent $3.3 million on X ads this year, according to MediaRadar. Sure, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the $170 million these companies shelled out in 2023, but the message is clear: when it comes to their bottom line, even the most self-righteous corporations can’t afford to play hardball with Musk. As the man himself put it, “We super appreciate major brands resuming advertising on our platform!” Musk gave a special nod to X CEO Linda Yaccarino for steering the platform back into the black.
Just want to say that we super appreciate major brands resuming advertising on our platform!
Thanks @lindayaX and the whole team for your hard work in restoring confidence in our platform and ensuring that advertising content only appears where advertisers want it shown. https://t.co/e508KrMo9g
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2024
Of course, it wasn’t too long ago that Disney and others had their “moral outrage” moment, pulling ad dollars over Musk’s response to an antisemitic post. IBM, Apple, and Disney led the charge, gasping in performative indignation while abandoning the platform. This virtue-signaling hysteria even cost X an estimated $75 million in ad revenue losses, according to The New York Times. And let’s not forget Musk’s response: “If someone’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f— yourself.” He even singled out Iger, the very man whose company is now slinking back onto X. Talk about poetic justice.
But the real kicker? Musk isn’t just taking the high road—he’s doubling down. Earlier this year, Musk funded Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney after they booted her from The Mandalorian over her so-called “controversial” posts. He also threw his support behind activist investor Nelson Peltz’s bid for a seat on Disney’s board. Clearly, Musk doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks the walk, unapologetically standing up to corporate bullies.
This return to X underscores a simple truth: capitalism wins. For all their posturing, these companies can’t ignore the raw power of a platform that attracts millions of users daily. The left can whine all they want about “disinformation” and “hate speech,” but at the end of the day, business is business. And Elon Musk? He’s the guy running circles around the Bob Igers of the world, proving that free speech and profits can coexist—even thrive—under the right leadership.
