Armando Iannucci reacts to Elon Musk’s ‘civil war’ remarks

Armando Iannucci has hit out at tech billionaire Elon Musk, after the X/Twitter owner was accused of stoking the flames of unrest as violent race riots spread across the UK.

Critics have called for a travel ban against the Tesla owner for a series of tweets and reposts, including one suggesting that “civil war is inevitable in the UK” – comments which were criticised by Downing Street.

After thousands of police were deployed and dozens of anti-racism demonstrations took place to quell the unrest and challenge rioters on Wednesday (7 August), many celebrated the first night of peace since the disorder erupted.

Iannucci shared a number of posts on X/Twitter tagging Musk after images of peaceful demonstrations spread on social media.

“You seeing this, @ElonMusk?” he wrote alongside reshared photos of thousands of protesters mobilised to challenge far-right groups including the English Defence League.

“By all means repost this, @ElonMusk” he continued alongside a news post that read: “There have been no reports of riots tonight as thousands of anti-racist protesters significantly outnumber anti-immigration demonstrators across the country”.

“Civil society, not civil war. Do please repost” urged Iannucci.

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“Not civil war: a civil society,” he continued as he shared the news of peaceful counter-demonstrations.

The Death of Stalin writer’s requests for Musk to repost the positive news, came after the billionaire appeared to repeat conspiracy theories including an image comparing the treatment of three alleged rapists which suggested the Muslim man had avoided jail, but it turned out that the man identified was not guilty of the crime claimed. The posts have been viewed millions of times, with many, including Piers Morgan, criticising him for a one-sided approach.

Iannucci has been subject to attacks himself as some individuals sympathetic with the far-right called him out for not being British.

“Armando Iannucci, Wow! What a classic Anglo name! Must date back to the late Roman Empire at least!” wrote one person, to which the director, who was born in Scotland and is of Italian heritage, quipped, “Your point being?”

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He previously likened Musk to the “toxic and empty” planet Mars, as he wrote, “You have no idea what our wonderful country is really like and are, like the planet Mars, both toxic and empty.”

Iannucci has been vocal about his condemnation of rioters as he wrote on Monday (5 August), “Just because you’re loud doesn’t mean you’re popular.

“The thugs on Britain’s streets last night tried to shriek and bully us into thinking they had a majority on their side, when the only thing they had on their side was bricks. The rest was noise. They’re a tiny fraction of a country that’s much bigger and more generous than they’ll ever be.”