Conservative actor James Woods and “X” owner Elon Musk battled on the social media platform over the weekend after Musk said that he would remove users’ ability to block other accounts.
“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for [Direct Messages],” Musk said late last week. “It makes no sense.”
Woods responded to news reports about the change that Musk by posting on the platform: “In the midst of a libel suit I was targeted by thirty trolls the defendant enlisted to harass me. X will be untenable for people like me, who are willing to share their identities. If he does this, I will have no choice but to retire from this site.”
“If [Elon Musk] removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will ‘X’ be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter?” Woods later posted. “Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X are mere pawns to turn the site into an electronic shopping mall. The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist. Disappointing, but not surprising.”
Musk responded directly to Woods, writing: “Then delete your account.”
Then delete your account
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Woods later posted a screenshot showing that Musk had blocked him after the interaction.
“You[r] prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point,” Woods wrote. “Have a nice day.”
Earlier in the day, Musk tweeted that he was using the “block” feature against those who want it to remain in order to prove a point.
“Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away,” Musk wrote. “How does the medicine taste?”
You prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day. pic.twitter.com/qt8ZD3wbM9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 20, 2023
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away.
How does the medicine taste? 😂😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Woods has been vocally supportive of Musk in the past, including after he bought the platform, formerly known as Twitter, and released internal files showing how the company censored conservatives and had a cozy relationship with federal law enforcement officials.
“I think Elon Musk has very possibly, very possibly saved America,” Woods said in a rare interview. “I think the ship of state has been on a course, rivaling the Titanic. And I think what Elon Musk has done, is spend a lot of money, like I did in that lawsuit against the guy who lied about me, you know, you spend the money because I’m going to do this because it’s so important to my survival and my well-being.”
“And I think Elon Musk loves this country,” Woods said. “It’s clear that he does, why would he spend all that money on Twitter, this rat infested app, you know, why would he do that unless he could see its value? You have to understand something, you know, back when they had the power in Twitter, the Democrats were happy to say, ‘Well, it’s a private site. It’s not, it’s not like it’s the town square. You know, they can say whatever they want.’ They’re not saying it now that Elon Musk owns it, but it was in fact the town square.”