Co-host Joy Behar of The View retracted [1] a false accusation on Thursday, in which she claimed that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) overseer Elon Musk had supported apartheid in South Africa during his youth.
Behar alleged that Musk, who was born in South Africa, was “pro-apartheid” and still maintained that “mentality.”
However, she provided no evidence to support the claim. In reality, according to biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk attended an anti-apartheid concert during his youth, contradicting Behar’s assertion.
During the segment, Behar linked Musk to President Donald Trump, suggesting that his South African background influenced his current political views.
“[Musk] kisses [President Donald Trump’s] butt and strokes his tiny ego, a big ego, whatever it is. And he can take a nap while the guy [who] was not born in this country, who was born under apartheid in South Africa, so he has that mentality going on. He was pro-apartheid as I understand it,” Behar said.
However, in the next segment, Behar admitted she had no actual evidence for her claim and attempted to walk back the statement.
Following criticism, Behar clarified her comments and asked Musk not to take legal action.
“I was just gonna say that now I’m getting some flack because I said that Musk was pro-apartheid,” she said.
“I don’t really know for sure if he was. He grew up at that time when apartheid was in full-blown before the great [former South African President] Nelson Mandela fixed that. [Musk] was around at that time, but maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. He might have been a young guy, too. So, don’t be suing me, okay, Elon?”
Musk was born in June 1971, making him 18 years old when apartheid officially ended in May 1990. He moved to the United States in 1992 to attend Stanford University and became a U.S. citizen in 2002.
Democrats have been critical of Musk in his role leading DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, which has significantly cut federal spending and downsized government agencies.
According to DOGE reports, the initiative has saved the federal government $65 billion, including by eliminating programs like the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) spending on sex changes in Guatemala.
Musk has also been a vocal critic of government waste, which has made him a target for left-wing media figures.
Behar’s walk-back is one of several on-air corrections made by The View co-hosts.
- Ana Navarro previously issued a correction after falsely claiming Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) pointed a gun at a rioter during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The person actually holding the firearm was another rioter.
- Whoopi Goldberg had to retract a baseless claim that Vice President J.D. Vance and Musk wanted to kill Trump.
- In November 2023, Behar falsely stated that Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election and immediately corrected herself.
As Musk continues cutting government spending and implementing transparency measures, he remains a frequent target of left-leaning media, with The View co-hosts among his most vocal critics.