Musk brands Gibney 'bitter old man' over Venice film — SkimNews
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- Elon Musk attacked filmmaker Alex Gibney on X after Gibney's four-hour documentary premiered at the Venice film festival this week, calling Gibney a "bitter old man" with "zero integrity" and labeling the film a "hit piece that misses" that was "boring af."
- Alex Gibney, director of prior documentaries on the Enron collapse, WikiLeaks, and Vladimir Putin, said at a Venice press conference he believed Musk was "extremely dangerous" and that people he approached showed "a sense of fear" about participating.
- Musk reposted a conspiracy-theory image depicting the Democratic party controlling layered puppets labeled "Team Soros," "Alex Gibney," and "Hollywood," commenting "Accurate," and separately called the documentary "a psy op" in response to a supporter.
- Musk's lawyer threatened to sue Gibney for defamation, NPR reported, while Musk denied ex-partner Ashley St Clair's claim that his team offered her $40 million to sign an NDA about their relationship.
- Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller and former communications director for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, amplified criticism that the film was not "definitive" because Musk's acquaintances and allies did not participate.
Why it matters: Musk's lawyer threatened to sue Gibney for defamation while Musk called the film 'a psy op' and amplified conspiracy imagery linking Gibney to George Soros and the Democratic party on X. The combination of personal abuse, legal threats, and conspiratorial framing on a platform Musk owns illustrates the toolkit he mobilizes against critical coverage.
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