On Thursday, The View co-host Joy Behar falsely accused billionaire Elon Musk of supporting South African apartheid, only to quickly walk back her remarks after facing pushback. Behar also claimed that Musk, who was born in South Africa, was “running the United States” for President Donald Trump.
“The guy was not born in this country, he was born under apartheid in South Africa. So he has that mentality going on. He was pro-apartheid, as I understand it,” Behar told her co-hosts.
There is no record of Musk ever expressing support for apartheid, a system of racial segregation that ended in the early 1990s. In fact, Musk has previously stated that he opposed the regime and left South Africa in part to avoid being conscripted into its military.
After a commercial break, Behar attempted to soften her claim, acknowledging she had no evidence to support it. “I’m getting some flack because I said that Musk was pro-apartheid. I don’t really know for sure if he was,” she admitted. “He grew up at that time when the apartheid party was in full bloom, before the great Nelson Mandela fixed that. He was around at that time.”
Behar then continued speculating, saying, “Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t,” before nervously addressing Musk directly. “So, don’t be suing me, okay, Elon!” She then justified The View’s discussions, saying, “They’re allowed to say any lie they want, but we have to be really strict. That’s why this show’s so important.”
It remains unclear why Behar retracted her statement, but The View has faced multiple defamation threats over the years, particularly stemming from controversial remarks about conservatives and Republican figures.
