Stephen King has addressed a “rumour” about Elon Musk after claims the author was banned from X/Twitter.
The writer has spoken out against Musk numerous times, making no secret of his dislike for the billionaire.
In the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, King questioned Musk’s defence of Donald Trump and, in the days after Trump’s victory, has repeatedly poked fun at Tesla and SpaceX founder Musk for his staunch support of the president-elect.
It was claimed this week that King, 77, had made a jibe that angered Musk, 53, so much that he blocked the Shining and ‘Salem’s Lot author from posting on X/Twitter, which Musk owns. According to the rumour, King had jokingly referred to Musk as Trump’s “first lady”.
Now, in the hours after it was revealed Musk will jointly lead a new US department set to advise the president-elect on how to make savings in the federal government, King has responded to these claims.
“I see there’s a rumour going around that I called the Musk-man Trump’s new first lady,” he wrote, adding: “I didn’t, but only because I didn’t think of it.”
King continued: “There’s also a rumour going around that Muskie kicked me off Twitter. Yet here I am.”
Earlier this year, King was “trolled” by Musk after X/Twitter introduced a new policy that wiped all pre-existing blue ticks on verified accounts, revealing that they would only be given to those who subscribed to the site.
However, King, who had been a vocal critic of Musk’s plan to remove free verification status, was confused to see he still had a blue tick despite not subscribing.
The author wrote: “My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.” In response to King, Musk wrote: “You’re welcome namaste.”
After Trump’s election win, many celebrities from the world of film, TV and music shared their reactions, with numerous stars who had endorsed his Democratic rival Kamala Harris expressing sadness at the result.
One such star was King, who wrote: “There’s a sign you can see in many shops that sell beautiful but fragile items: LOVELY TO LOOK AT, DELIGHTFUL TO HOLD, BUT ONCE YOU BREAK IT, THEN IT’S SOLD. You can say the same about democracy.”
