A little over a month after he was accused of making a controversial Nazi hand gesture at President Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration, Elon Musk responded to the backlash during his latest visit to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Videos by Suggest
“I did not see it coming,” Musk declared, putting “not” and “see” together to sound like “Nazi” while chatting about the controversy.
The tech billionaire then stated that people will “Goebbels anything down,” referring to German Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. He previously made a similar joke through his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).
Joe Rogan responded to Elon Musk by defending the gesture. “There’s so many examples of people saying, ‘My heart goes out to’ while motioning a similar gesture,” the podcast host explained. “You did it with a little enthusiasm that probably be recommended with hindsight.”
Musk pointed out, “It was obviously meant in the most positive spirit possible.”
Elon Musk Hopes People ‘Realize’ He’s Not a Nazi
Elon Musk later posted a clip of the interview on his X account and wrote, “Hopefully people will realize I’m not a Nazi. You can’t escape this bulls—. What is bad about Nazis, it wasn’t their fashion sense or their mannerisms, it was the war and genocide is the bad part. Not the mannerisms and their dress code.”
Musk made the gesture while addressing Trump supporters during an inauguration event. “This one really mattered. And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you.”
He then placed his hand over his heart before extending his arm upward. He repeated the gesture while looking at those sitting behind him.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk declared.