Elon Musk has blocked James Woods on X after the actor criticized the tech mogul’s transfer to remove the block operate from the platform previously often known as Twitter.
Musk beforehand instructed Woods to delete his account after the “Vampires” star lamented that, with out the block function, the web site would grow to be “untenable” for individuals like him “who’re prepared to share their identities.”
“If [Musk] does this, I’ll don’t have any selection however to retire from this website,” Woods posted on Friday.
In current days, Musk has been mocking and blocking opponents of his as-yet unrealized determination to take away the block choice — which permits customers to stop sure accounts from participating with them on the platform.
“I’m having an excellent time blocking individuals who complain that blocking goes away,” Musk posted on Sunday, together with a crying-laughing emoji.
The SpaceX and Tesla co-founder has repeatedly defended his determination to finish blocking by laying out a bigger plan to “strengthen the mute operate by making something posted by the muted account invisible” to the muter. He has assured customers that they are going to nonetheless have the power to dam individuals from direct-messaging them.
Defenders of the block operate say that eradicating it’s going to trigger harassment to spike on the platform and inflict larger hurt on marginalized teams, similar to ladies and folks of colour.
Whereas talking out towards Musk, Woods stated he was as soon as “focused by thirty trolls … enlisted to harass” him whereas he was embroiled in a libel swimsuit. In July 2015, the two-time Oscar nominee filed a $10-million criticism towards an nameless Twitter person who had allegedly falsely referred to as him a cocaine addict throughout a malicious on-line marketing campaign to “discredit and injury” the performer’s repute.
“If @elonmusk removes the power to dam concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will ‘X’ be any completely different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter?” Woods posted on Saturday.
“Musk, whom I as soon as championed, is simply doing this to guard his advertisers anyway. Customers of X are mere pawns to show the positioning into an digital shopping center. The person I assumed was a defender of free speech is simply one other grasping capitalist. Disappointing, however not shocking.”
After Musk blocked him, Woods remarked that his adversary had proved his level by sticking to his “prerogative.” Following what he referred to as an “astonishing” wave of help from followers, Woods finally determined that he’ll “by no means go away” X and can “solely ever be silent after they discover an excuse” to kick him off the platform.
Instances intern Emerson Drewes and former staffer Ann M. Simmons contributed to this report.