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A free speech fracas presented “discomfort and headaches” for some Brazilian diplomats after their country’s first lady used profanity to take a personal swipe at the world’s richest man.

As world leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit, Janja Lula da Silva, the wife of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva didn’t hold back in airing her opinion of Elon Musk. More than a month after the billionaire came to an armistice in a protracted battle with the nation’s courts, the first lady tossed out a “f*ck you” for the free speech absolutist.

In a video shared by Brazilian legislator Nikolas Ferreira, a supporter of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Lula da Silva can be heard reacting to an interruption by saying what translated to, “I think it’s Elon Musk. I’m not afraid of you. In fact, f*ck you, Elon Musk.”

“This,” said Ferreira, “is the ‘tolerant’ left.”

Warning: Language

According to the newspaper Folha De San Paulo, the 58-year-old first lady was speaking about regulating social media when the interruption came, and her statement, “caused discomfort and headaches for diplomats.”

“Privately, they and members of the Esplanada said that the insult could bind the government’s attempts to establish a pragmatic relationship with [President-elect] Donald Trump,” the report continued as the GOP leader was working closely with the innovative entrepreneur heading into his second administration.

Following the incident, the Brazilian president offered his reaction without specifically citing his wife, “I wanted to tell you that this is a campaign in which we don’t have to offend anyone, we don’t have to insult anyone. We just need to change society.”

In October, it was reported that the social media platform X had been reinstated in Brazil with an agreement to pay $5.1 million in fines after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had forced Musk’s hand.

The SpaceX founder and CEO stated in August, “Due to demands by ‘Justice’ @Alexandre in Brazil that would require us to break (in secret) Brazilian, Argentinian, American, and international law, X has no choice but to close our local operations in Brazil. He is an utter disgrace to justice.”

Earlier in the year, X had been faced with a criminal probe for alleged “fake news” and de Moraes had threatened the arrest of employees, including their legal representative.

While the president was tempered in his reaction, some of his supporters were less so, including Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture Paulo Teixeira who posted, “The truth is that @janjaLula said what was stuck in our throats. This is the feeling about Elon Musk and his negative interference in international politics.”

Teixeira went on to dismiss concerns, steering to world hunger and poverty, but Bolsonaro indicated the matter was not so readily set aside.

Sharing a screenshot of Musk’s reaction, which included laughing emojis and the comment, “They will lose the next election,” the former president said, “We now have another diplomatic problem.”

Capturing another angle of the incident, Brazilian journalist Patrícia Lélis said, “Not liking Elon Musk is a personal opinion for each person, it’s quite another thing to have a first lady publicly telling the guy to f*ck off. Do you want to always speak your mind without any limits? Don’t be the first lady, simple! For those who are covering up, I’m sure that if it were Michele Bolsonaro telling Leonardo DiCaprio to f*ck off, you wouldn’t defend him. Have some sense!”

Kevin Haggerty
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