Elon Musk calls Disney to fire Robert Iger amid advertising dispute

• Elon Musk has publicly demanded the immediate firing of Disney CEO Robert Iger.
• This comes just a week after Musk told companies participating in an advertising boycott of X
• In July, Musk admitted that X, ad revenue had experienced a 50% decline.

Elon Musk has publicly demanded the immediate firing of Disney CEO Robert Iger after Disney ceased advertising on X.

Musk criticized Iger’s leadership, suggesting that Walt Disney would be dismayed by the current state of the company.

This comes just a week after Musk told companies participating in an advertising boycott of X to “Go [expletive] yourself,” following concerns over anti-Semitism on the platform.

Robert Iger’s unexpected return to Disney over a year ago aimed to navigate the company through challenging times, marked by a drop in share prices and losses incurred by the Disney+ streaming service. Iger’s leadership has been associated with significant acquisitions, including Pixar, Marvel, 21st Century Fox.  These strategic moves contributed to a five-fold increase in Disney’s market value, despite recent challenges.

Musk hinted at Disney’s recent box-office struggles in a Thursday post, suggesting that Iger had encountered difficulties. Musk also accused Disney of advertising on social media platforms that allow controversial content. In a profanity-laden outburst in New York last week, Musk criticized companies, including Disney, Apple, and Comcast, for pausing advertising on X, accusing them of attempting to blackmail him and threatening the survival of his social media platform.

“I don’t want them to advertise,” Mr Musk said in response to a question at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit.

“If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money go [expletive] yourself.

“Go. [Expletive]. Yourself. Is that clear? Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience, that’s how I feel.”

Mr Musk was apparently referring to Mr Iger, who spoke at the summit earlier in the day. X’s chief executive Linda Yaccarino, who also attended the summit, has since reposted what she called Mr Musk’s “candid interview”.

She added her perspective on advertising that “X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street — and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you”.

Elon Musk visited Israel following controversy over his apparent endorsement of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory last month. Although he denied the post’s anti-Semitic nature, he issued an apology, acknowledging it might have been the “dumbest” thing he ever shared online.

Despite the apology, numerous advertisers had already opted to invest their advertising funds elsewhere. In July, Musk admitted on his social media platform, X, that ad revenue had experienced a 50% decline.