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A former SpaceX flight attendant is alleging that while on Elon Musk's Gulfstream G650ER, Musk exposed himself to her and then offered to give her a horse in exchange for sexual favors.
During the incident, which Musk's accuser states took place in a private cabin on the aircraft en route to London in 2016, Musk rubbed the woman's leg and pleaded for a sexual massage, which she firmly declined. The details of the offense were laid out in a signed declaration, and Musk threw $250,000 at the problem in 2018, hoping it would all go away. But, unfortunately for him, the internet is forever.
In emails and other documentation obtained by Insider, the woman worked as a contracted member of the SpaceX cabin crew and, shortly after taking the position, was encouraged by Musk to also become a licensed masseuse for the sole purpose of giving him massages while onboard. It was during one of these massages that Musk is said to have asked her to "do more." After entering into a private cabin on the aircraft, the woman states that she was met by a fully naked Musk covered only by a sheet laid over his privates, which was later moved to expose his erect penis.
After being asked by Insider to explain himself, Musk reportedly asked for more time to craft his response and then returned with the following:
"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." Musk then referred to the claim as a "politically motivated hit piece," according to Insider.
The flight attendant, who is choosing to remain anonymous, told a friend that professional opportunities took a dive after refusing Musk's proposition. In 2018, assuming her lack of work was linked to turning Musk down, she hired an employment lawyer and human resources was contacted. Rather than go to court, Musk offered a severance agreement amounting to $250,000 and made the woman promise not to pursue the matter further. The woman's friend, whose intel was included in the signed declaration against Musk, decided to speak up about the incident now and she herself is a survivor of sexual assault.
"I absolutely felt a responsibility to come forward with it, especially now," the accuser's friend said to Insider. "He is the richest man in the world. Someone with that level of power causing that kind of harm and then throwing some money at the situation, that's not accountability."
According to Pet Rogue Science, the cost of a horse ranges from $100 – $10,000, but the most expensive breeds such as an Arabian or Thoroughbred can run almost exactly $250,000.
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'They come for the lulz... but stay for rage juice': Conservative blasts 'radicalizing' internet 'messiahs'
May 19, 2022
On Thursday, in a podcast interview posted to The Bulwark, former RNC official and Jeb Bush staffer Tim Miller walked through the danger posed by the internet's radicalization of "angry young white men" to commit acts of hate.
This danger, Miller argued, is laid clear by the gunman who murdered 10 Black supermarket shoppers in Buffalo, after months of preparation and planning — and inspiration from the darkest corners of online message boards.
"These young men were radicalized not by religious clerics or cult leaders, but by message-board messiahs who cloak their radical ideology in memes," said Miller. "The 18-year-old who carried out the latest white supremacist mass murder left no doubt that’s exactly what led him to do it. He wrote in his 180-page manifesto that the idea for the attack came online: 'Browsing /pol/ one day I saw a short gif of a man walking into a building and shooting a shotgun through a dark hallway.' That man was the perpetrator of the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which he livestreamed on Facebook."
"The Buffalo shooter says he then began researching Christchurch and developed his beliefs, mostly on the internet, where he learned about the Great Replacement theory, which posits that shadowy forces — usually Democrats or Jews — are plotting to replace white European ethnoculture by importing minorities with higher fertility rates," noted Miller. "This replacement ideology has flourished in online forums like 8Chan and Gab and Parler where racist blog boys post dehumanizing memes that they often pretend are jokes when called on it."
The Attorney General of New York has already announced an investigation into the online platforms that allegedly inspired the gunman's murderous rampage.
"They come for the lulz, but stay for the surround-sound of rage juice that tells them that they are the victim of modern woke culture," concluded Miller. "And the most unstable among them get convinced that their only choice is to act. From Christchurch, to Charleston, to El Paso, to Buffalo, we’ve seen the deadly result — which is why we cannot dismiss their lulz as some stupid internet game. I’d like to close this week by remembering the people who are the victims of this latest racist attack."
You can read the whole interview here.
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Conservative activist and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza told a conservative podcast that “2000 Mules,” his film making flawed and faulty claims about election fraud in 2020, directly led the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office to open up an investigation — but the sheriff says that’s simply not true.
“The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office has been working jointly with the Yuma County Recorder’s Office and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office extensively regarding allegations of voter misconduct for over a year,” Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot said in an emailed statement to the Arizona Mirror.
“These ongoing investigations are not related to or inspired by any movie or celebrity figure, but rather facts and evidence regarding violation of Arizona statute,” Wilmot added. “I am not familiar with, nor have I ever communicated with, any individuals who may now be claiming I am investigating on their behalf or because of any supposed inspiration from a documentary film.”
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Wilmot was responding to the Mirror’s questions about comments D’Souza made on Jason Whitlock’s “Fearless” podcast. The far-right provocateur said that Wilmot saw a screening of the movie “2000 Mules” and “went berserk” afterward.
“The Sheriff of Yuma saw our movie, went berserk and has opened up an investigation in Yuma, Arizona and I believe there will be arrests very soon,” D’Souza said on the podcast, which is produced and distributed by conservative media company Blaze Media.
D’Souza did not respond to a request for comment.
The film alleges that by using geolocation data purchased by the filmmakers they were able to track “ballot mules” to drop boxes where they falsely allege the “mules” were paid to stuff the boxes with completed ballots. The practice, pejoratively referred to as ballot harvesting, is illegal in Arizona and many other states.
Wilmot announced last week that his office and the county recorder’s office are investigating voting fraud cases from 2020, but there is no indication that any of the cases involve the movie’s claims. Instead, YCSO said the cases include impersonation fraud, false registrations, duplicate voting and fraudulent use of absentee ballots.
Since D’Souza made his comments, others have latched on, including The America Project Founder and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.
In a video posted to Rumble, a video streaming service favored by the far-right, Byrne said the Yuma investigation was in direct response to the film. Byrne’s organization was the largest funder of the Arizona Senate’s “audit” of the presidential election.
Byrne has also been a leading voice in 2020 election fraud claims and has railed against the so-called deep state. Byrne attended an hour-long meeting at the White House during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency in which he, attorney Sidney Powell and disgraced retired Gen. Michael Flynn urged the president to overturn the election and impose martial law.
I am not familiar with, nor have I ever communicated with, any individuals who may now be claiming I am investigating on their behalf or because of any supposed inspiration from a documentary film.
– Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot
D’Souza’s film has been criticized for many of its false claims, including that the geolocation data used is so accurate that it helped solve a murder. The film is based on one whistleblower from San Luis, Ariz., who claimed to have seen people getting paid for ballot collection. The film contains no evidence of these payments.
An analysis of the film’s claims by the Associated Press found numerous problems with the data analysis that D’Souza and True the Vote, a conservative advocacy group, performed to reach their conclusions. For instance, there is no accounting for people with multiple mobile devices that could create pings in the geolocation data or people who are elections or campaign workers who would drive by areas where drop boxes are located on a regular basis. Other fact-checkers have also done independent analysis of the claims and found them to be flawed.
D’Souza has a history of making controversial films.
His first film, “2016: Obama’s America,” made more money at the box office than any political documentary since “Fahrenheit 9/11,” garnering him the nickname the “conservative Michael Moore.”
Multiple films by D’Souza have focused on his political enemies, as well as mentioning his conviction for campaign finance fraud. Trump pardoned D’Souza for that crime.
“2000 Mules” has gained an ardent following among Arizona Republicans and within the broader right-wing ecosystem.
“Have you seen #2000Mules yet?” Secretary of State candidate and Oro Valley Republican Mark Finchem posted on Twitter.
Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake hosted a screening of the film earlier this month with election fraud promoter and pillow salesman Mike Lindell, charging up to $2,000 to attend. Prescott Republican Congressman Paul Gosar, state Sen. Sonny Borrelli, Rep. Leo Biasucci, Finchem and former State Sen. David Farnsworth was also in attendance.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich in 2020 announced two Yuma County women were charged under the ballot harvesting statute. D’Souza has hyped those prosecutions on social media in an attempt to buttress his movie’s claims, but has spread false information about those cases in doing so. He claimed the case was “busted by the FBI,” but it was investigated by local law enforcement and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
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Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.
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