Elon Musk has ignited a firestorm on social media after dragging singer Taylor Swift into the ongoing controversy surrounding his gesture at former President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
The billionaire faced intense criticism after reposting tweets that seemingly compared Swift to Adolf Hitler, sparking outrage among her fans, aka Swifties. One of the tweets Musk shared, originally posted by @WholeMarsBlog, showed an image of Swift with her arm outstretched, accompanied by the caption, “My god. Not her too.” Musk also reposted another tweet by @EndWokeness, which placed the picture of Swift with an image of Hitler giving a Nazi salute, asking, “Does this mean Swifties = Hitler Youth?”
Fans were quick to point out that the image of Swift had been doctored. Footage from the event in question revealed that the singer had been blowing kisses and waving to her fans and not performing any controversial gesture. Many also noted that she was holding her mic in her right hand.
The backlash prompted fans to call for legal action against Musk. “Taylor Swift needs to sue the living **** out of Elon ********* and X immediately,” one tweet read.
Musk, however, dismissed the criticism. Addressing scrutiny over the alleged ‘Nazi Salute’, he wrote on X, “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
The controversy surrounding Musk’s gesture at Trump’s 2017 inauguration resurfaced after videos showed him bringing his right arm to his chest before extending it toward the crowd—a motion that many likened to a Nazi or Roman salute. Musk has denied any connection to fascist symbolism and brushed off the accusations.
His supporters also came to his defence, sharing clips from Star Trek that also featured characters making a similar gesture.
