Elon Musk Joins Anti-LGBTQ+ Libs of TikTok to Mock Fired Employee
The wealthiest man in the world, who had proclaimed himself a free speech absolutist before banning comedian Kathy Griffin from Twitter for mocking him, and who, in the two weeks of owning the social media platform, has overseen a mass exodus of employees (both firings and resignations), a radical increase in hate speech, and advertisers pulling contracts left and right, spent time making ableist jokes to a right-wing hate account on his $44 billion app.
On Tuesday afternoon, the anti-LGBTQ+ hate account Libs of TikTok tweeted several screenshots of a Twitter employee’s tweets that had resulted in their firing.
“How it started...How it’s going,” the account tweeted above the screenshots at 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
Thirteen minutes later, at 1:18 p.m., Elon Musk, who was not tagged in the tweet, replied to Libs of TikTok.
“A tragic case of adult onset Tourette’s,” Musk wrote.
Libs of TikTok, run by Chaya Raichik, has spent months maligning transgender Americans and the LGBTQ+ community more broadly. The account, according to experts, engages in stochastic terrorism tactics constantly. Yet Republicans and right-wing media personalities have embraced and amplified the account in the run-up to the midterm election.
Before Musk purchased Twitter, Libs of TikTok was suspended from the platform multiple times for violating the terms of service. In September, other companies like PayPal permanently banned Libs of TikTok from using their services.
People on Twitter were outraged that Musk would give a known hate account such a spotlight.
“The Twitter CEO is bantering mockingly about an employee he just fired with an account that traffics in anti-LGBT hate and very recently contributed to threats of violence against childrens’ hospitals,” one user wrote.
After Musk gave Libs of TikTok the attention that the account thrives off of, Raichik reveled in the spotlight and took shots at those whom she perceives as her enemies in the mainstream press.
“Media is having a meltdown because Elon replied to one of my tweets. This site offers the best entertainment. Thank you @elonmusk!”
“Cry more TayTay,” Raichik wrote, continuing her long-running and self-declared feud with Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz.
Lorenz had uncovered that Raichik was behind the online troll account and published a story revealing her identity in April. The right wing became enraged and began a targeted campaign against Lorenz, whom they accused of doxxing Raichik.
Raichik claims to be a journalist holding a mirror up to society to show how ridiculous liberals and the “LGBTQ+ agenda” are. She had gone to great lengths to disguise her identity, something she continues to this day as she refuses to show her face publicly.
