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Elon Musk drags Taylor Swift in Nazi salute row from Donald Trump inauguration, Swifties slam him for 'unprovoked smear'
Elon Musk has dragged pop star Taylor Swift in the ongoing controversy about his alleged Nazi salute at US President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Elon Musk is doubling down on his efforts to justify a Nazi salute-like gesture he made at US President Donald Trump's inauguration earlier this week. The billionaire has now dragged pop star Taylor Swift into the row, retweeting a post comparing a screengrab of Swift waving to the infamous Nazi salute. However, the out-of-context post has led to the Tesla CEO being roasted by legions of Swift fans, aka the Swifties. (Also read: Elon Musk's 'everyone is Hitler' reply to 'Nazi salute' row)
On Tuesday, a conservative Twitter (now X) page posted a side-by-side photo comparison of Taylor Swift and Adolf Hitler. The picture made it seem as if Taylor was doing a Nazi salute. "Does this mean Swifties = HitIer youth," the caption read. Elon Musk retweeted the post from his official handle. This is among the many posts Elon has shared since his awkward Nazi salute-like gesture from Washington DC went viral.
However, dragging Taylor Swift into the debate did not sit too well with her fans. On Wednesday, an Instagram account provided context behind the Taylor image, showing videos in which the singer was waving at fans in that clip and not giving a salute. The video attracted thousands of comments attacking Trump. "His weird obsession with her is concerning," wrote one. Another added, "If I were her, I'd be taking legal action for this completely unprovoked smear attempt."
Even non-fans of the singer were quick to jump to her defence. "I mean, I dislike Taylor as much as the next person, but unjustifiably calling her a nazi is way too much." This is not the first time Musk has targeted Taylor Swift. Last year, after she had endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in her Presidential bid against Donald Trump, Musk - a Trump supporter - had made a puzzling remark about wanting to impregnate Swift.
What is Elon Musk's Nazi salute row
At Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, Elon Musk made a hand gesture that was likened to a Nazi salute. “I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” Musk said during a speech at Capital One Arena, referring to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Then he slapped his hand on his chest, extended his arm straight out and up with his palm facing down. “My heart goes out to you,” said Musk, after turning around to make a similar gesture facing the other way. Many social media users noticed that the gesture looked like a Nazi salute. Musk has only fanned the flames of suspicion by not explicitly denying those claims since, though he did make light of the criticism and lashed out at people making that interpretation.
