On Wednesday, Elon Musk announced that he would be voting Republican from now on.
Then on Thursday, Insider dropped a report that Musk had propositioned a SpaceX flight attendant/masseuse for an erotic massage in exchange for a horse (yes a horse) and settled out of court for $250,000 when she sued him for sexual harassment.
It should be noted that the flight attendant in question did not contact or speak to Insider about the alleged incident. All the details and documents (emails) Insider presented came from "an unidentified friend" of the flight attendant because the flight attendant was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and refused to respond.
[The friend] spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fears for her personal safety, but Insider is aware of her identity. Insider is also aware of the flight attendant's identity, but is not naming her because she has claimed to be a victim of sexual misconduct. She declined to comment for this story.
The flight attendant's friend said that she was coming forward because Elon Musk needs accountability:
'When you choose to remain silent, yeah, you do become a part of that system,' she said. 'You do become a part of that machine that allows someone like Elon Musk to continue to do the horrible things that he's done.'
For his part, Elon Musk has said there is "a lot more to this story," denied the claims, and called them the rantings of "a far left activist/actress in LA with a major political axe to grind."
He also said,
If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light. [This is] a politically motivated hit piece.
Then he issued the following challenge to his accuser on Twitter:
Of course the timing of the accusations is more than a little suspect considering Elon Musk's recent political conversion, and both sides of the aisle are questioning what's going on in just the ways you would expect.
Conservatives see the report as a political hit piece.
Leftists see Elon Musk trying to cover over the scandal by making it political.
If the Democrats were not always crying wolf and throwing unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment around whenever things don't go their way, it would be easier to take these sorts of stories more seriously. And if it's true, then it's terrible.
However, it's impossible to know what really happened. In these cases, settlements and non-disclosure agreements don't look good, even if they're being used to avoid a scandal, rather than guilt.
Is there a good way to avoid false accusations without silencing real victims of sexual harassment and assault? I don't know the answer to that, but weaponizing accusations for political or financial gain accomplishes pretty much the same thing in making us question real victims' stories.
Where's the prophet Nathan speaking truth to power when you need him?
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
