Did Elon Musk 'Personally Intervene' In Russel Brand's Presence On X? British Politicians Seek Answers

Elon Musk is at the center of yet another controversy, and this time, it could be a sensitive issue – British politicians are seeking answers from Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino on the presence of British actor Russel Brand on X (formerly Twitter).

What Happened: British politicians are aggressively pursuing the de-platforming and demonetization of Brands on social media platforms. While mainstream British channels like BBC and Channel 4 have removed all of Brand's content from their streaming services, Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL YouTube has demonetized the actor's channel.

See Also: Musk Heeds X Users’ Call: Mobile Post Scheduling Coming Soon

British politician Dame Caroline Dinenage, who is also the Culture, Media and Sports Committee chairwoman, sought answers from Yaccarino about Brand's status on X.

"We would be grateful if you could confirm whether Mr. Brand monetizes his content and, if so, we would like to know whether X intends to join YouTube in suspending Mr. Brand's ability to earn money on the platform," she said.

"Given Elon Musk's response to Mr. Brand's tweet regarding the allegations, where he wrote ‘Of course. They don't like competition', we are also keen to understand whether Mr. Musk has personally intervened in any decisions on Mr. Brand's status on the platform," she sought to know, given Musk's active participation in discussions about Brand.

However, Musk's X seems to have refused to join the others. While there is no official response from X itself, Musk has been posting on the platform stating that this is "censorship" and that there is "more to this than meets the eye".

"If the concern is actually sexual predation in the entertainment industry, that is a very long list. Why @rustyrockets and why now?" Musk said, posing a question to Brand.

Why It Matters: Brand has been accused of rape and sexual harassment between 2006 and 2013. A joint investigation by the Sunday Times, the Times, and Channel 4's Dispatches revealed four women alleging sexual assault over a seven-year period between 2006 and 2013.

However, Brand denied these allegations in a video on Sept. 15, saying that his relationships were "absolutely, always consensual".

Photo by kovop on Shutterstock

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