Elon Musk has blocked James Woods on X after the actor criticized the tech mogul’s move to eliminate the block function from the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Musk previously told Woods to delete his account after the “Vampires” star lamented that, without the block feature, the website would become “untenable” for people like him “who are willing to share their identities.”
“If [Musk] does this, I will have no choice but to retire from this site,” Woods posted on Friday.
In recent days, Musk has been mocking and blocking opponents of his as-yet unrealized decision to remove the block option — which allows users to prevent certain accounts from engaging with them on the platform.
“I’m having a good time blocking people who complain that blocking is going away,” Musk posted on Sunday, along with a crying-laughing emoji.
The SpaceX and Tesla co-founder has repeatedly defended his decision to end blocking by laying out a larger plan to “strengthen the mute function by making anything posted by the muted account invisible” to the muter. He has assured users that they will still have the ability to block people from direct-messaging them.
Defenders of the block function say that removing it will cause harassment to spike on the platform and inflict greater harm on marginalized groups, such as women and people of color.
While speaking out against Musk, Woods said he was once “targeted by thirty trolls … enlisted to harass” him while he was embroiled in a libel suit. In July 2015, the two-time Oscar nominee filed a $10-million complaint against an anonymous Twitter user who had allegedly falsely called him a cocaine addict during a malicious online campaign to “discredit and damage” the performer’s reputation.
“If @elonmusk removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will ‘X’ be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter?” Woods posted on Saturday.
“Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X are mere pawns to turn the site into an electronic shopping mall. The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist. Disappointing, but not surprising.”
After Musk blocked him, Woods remarked that his adversary had proved his point by sticking to his “prerogative.” Following what he called an “astonishing” wave of support from fans, Woods ultimately decided that he will “never leave” X and will “only ever be silent when they find an excuse” to kick him off the platform.
Times intern Emerson Drewes and former staffer Ann M. Simmons contributed to this report.
