Just two days after it defended Elon Musk by downplaying a gesture he made that observers said was identical to the Nazi salute, the Anti-Defamation League was put in the awkward position of having to rebuke the billionaire for making jokes about the Holocaust.
In response to a series of tired puns Musk made referencing infamous Third Reich figures, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said, “We’ve said it hundreds of times before and we will say it again: the Holocaust was a singularly evil event, and it is inappropriate and offensive to make light of it. Elon Musk, the Holocaust is not a joke.”
Musk shocked many viewers Monday when he capped off a televised speech during Donald Trump’s inaugural event by putting his right hand to his chest, and then forcefully — to the point of grunting with exertion — extended his arm straight out, palm down, fingers straight. He then repeated the gesture, which immediately drew widespread condemnation for its resemblance to the Nazi salute.
While Musk subsequently complained that the criticism, which he dismissed as “everyone is Hitler,” is “sooo tired” and “dirty tricks,” he has not as of this writing specifically denied the accusations that the gesture was a Nazi salute.
Others have taken the liberty of denying this for him however, including the ADL. In a statement issued shortly after the incident, the group decried the influence of social media and insisted Musk “made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute. “In this moment,” ADL added, “all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
Skip ahead to Thursday, when Musk, referencing the accusations, posted, “Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming.”
The late night hosts have had plenty of fodder to work with since the gesture Monday afternoon. On Wednesday night, Seth Meyers not only went after Musk for the questionable gesture but also cracked off a joke at the ADL for initially giving the billionaire the benefit of the doubt.
“It does help answer the question, ‘What do you get for the man who has everything?’ The benefit of the doubt!” Meyers said. “So I’m going to take that advice. I mean, who among us hasn’t sieged when we were trying to zag?”
