Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, swore while addressing billionaire Elon Musk during a G20 event on the weekend, at which she spoke about the need to regulate social media to rein in misinformation.
A ship’s horn sounded as she spoke Saturday and she joked, “I think it’s Elon Musk,” before adding, “I’m not afraid of you, f**k you, Elon Musk.”
Musk, owner of social network X, reacted to a video of her remarks by posting a laughing out loud emoji graphic. In another post, he added, “They are going to lose the next election,” in a reference to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The president’s wife spoke at an event ahead of the Rio de Janeiro summit of the G20 group of largest nations set for Monday and Tuesday.
Musk’s social media network was suspended in Brazil for a month this year for failing to name a legal representative in the country and ignoring the top court’s orders to block accounts accused of spreading “fake news” and hate messages.
X was cleared to resume service in Brazil last month, after it reversed course and started complying with the court rulings.
The dispute was one of a series of recent face-offs between Musk, who views himself as a champion of free speech, and governments such as Australia and the United Kingdom that are seeking to prevent the spread of online misinformation.
Brazil’s president also weighed in earlier this year, saying that people with businesses in Brazil must follow local laws and the world was “not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich.”
