Elon Musk’s war on woke gender pronouns: the Twitter billionaire and father of transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson hit back after a former Nasa astronaut accused him of mocking the LGBT community

Dec 14 , 2022

Twitter owner Elon Musk recently got in a spat over gender pronouns ... again. Photo: TNS

Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday, December 11, engaged in a Twitter spat with former Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly after Musk appeared to mock the use of gender pronouns.

SpaceX’s Elon Musk waves while providing an update on Starship, on February 10, near Brownsville, Texas. Photo: AP

“My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” Musk tweeted, apparently referring to chief White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci.

Here’s exactly what happened …

The recent Twitter discourse

Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly currently holds the American record for most time spent in space. Photo: Reuters

Scott Kelly, a former Nasa astronaut, responded to the tweet, saying: “Elon, please don’t mock and promote hate toward already marginalised and at-risk-of-violence members of the #LGBTQ community. They are real people with real feelings. Furthermore, Dr Fauci is a dedicated public servant whose sole motivation was saving lives.”

Elon Musk took over Twitter in October, and the social media platform has been rocked with changes since. Photo: Reuters

In a reply to Kelly, Musk said: “I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracising those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.”

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Not the first time Elon Musk has taken aim at gender pronouns

Elon Musk with his ex-girlfriend, Grimes, attending The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala in May 2018, in New York. Photo: AP

It’s not the first time Musk has taken aim at gender pronouns. In 2020, his ex-partner Grimes said “stop this” after Musk tweeted that “pronouns suck”.

Six months later, Musk shared a meme that mocked gender pronouns used in social media bios. In response, LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign urged him to apologise for his “insensitive” comments.

A few days later, Musk tweeted: “I absolutely support trans [sic], but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare.”

Recently, Musk’s teenage transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson filed to legally change her family name, saying she no longer wanted to be identified with her biological father.

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Musk takes a dig at Dr Anthony Fauci

Elon Musk also poked fun at chief White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci on Twitter. Photo: Getty Images

In his response to Kelly on Sunday, Musk also made a series of allegations against Fauci without providing additional information or evidence.

Some Republicans have said they want to investigate the infectious diseases expert over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent tweets, Musk has endorsed the Republican Party and shared anti-Democratic conspiracy theories.

Representatives for Kelly didn’t immediately respond to request for comment, made outside US operating hours.

This article originally appeared on Insider.

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Millionaires and billionaires

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO recently took shots at White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci on social media … but this isn’t the first time he’s criticised the use of gender pronouns
Musk’s teen transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson changed her name to distance herself from her dad and his ex-girlfriend Grimes disagreed with his comments on pronouns too