Writer Stephen King isn’t exactly known for his shyness on social media. The master of horror has been involved in several high-profile Twitter imbroglio before on topics ranging from gun control to Texas’ vaccination policies to fellow author JK Rowling. One of his latest posts elicits more disappointment than outrage, though, and has left some fans confused.
The tweet praises health professionals for that “have worked so gallantly,” but starts with four very controversial words in the Twittersphere: “I admire Elon Musk.” While King opines that health care workers deserve the Person of the Year recognition Time magazine recently granted Musk, many expressed disappointment that King would express any sort of admiration at all for the controversial Tesla and Space X CEO.
While most of the negative reactions expressed disappointment, at least one person who responded to the tweet expressed a different sort of emotion more commonly associated with King:
Some responders defended the initial sentiment, however, expressing admiration for the iconoclastic entrepreneur.
Given Musk’s reputation as a lightning rod for controversy over vaccines, economic policy, and his own, often out of left field and outright bizarre tweets, King may have been better off not involving the multi-trillionaire’s name at all. Unfortunately, many people have bogged down into discussions concerning their opinions over Musk rather than the spirit that King made his initial tweet with, a celebration of America’s hard-working health care professionals. Some responders do seem to appreciate the thought, though, and have responded with praise for the front-line workers.