Paris Hilton's media firm halts ads on X/Twitter: Here's why
Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media has hit the brakes on its advertising campaign on Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter). This move comes after watchdog group Media Matters for America discovered advertisements from big brands like Apple, Bravo, and Amazon appearing alongside white nationalist content. In response to the backlash, Bruce Gersh, President of 11:11 Media, confirmed the "immediate suspension of the campaign."
Hilton's company announced major deal with X last month
In October, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced a significant commercial deal with Hilton, calling her the "queen of pop culture, music, business, and TV" and welcoming her to the "X family." The collaboration aimed to kickstart new projects in video, live video, live commerce, Spaces, and more. The deal included a revenue-sharing agreement with four video content programs per year featuring live shopping for viewers. Now, uncertainty looms over this partnership amid the advertisement controversy.
This is how X welcomed Hilton
Other brands also severed ties with X following the report
The watchdog group reported a rise in antisemitic content (prejudice against Jewish people) and other hate speech on X, some of which Musk himself promoted. Last week, the 51-year-old entrepreneur sparked controversy by endorsing a post asserting that Jewish people harbor a "dialectical hatred" of white people. Media Matter's report sparked outrage and promoted major advertisers, including Disney, Apple, Lionsgate, Comcast/NBCUniversal, and IBM to sever ties with X.
X filed lawsuit against 'Media Matters' alleging 'malicious' smear campaign
In a lawsuit, X accused Media Matters of engaging in a "malicious" campaign to drive away advertisers from the platform. X also claimed that the group initiated a "blatant smear campaign" by publishing nearly 20 articles against the platform in November. The group has been accused of illegally interfering with X's contracts with advertisers by making false statements as well.
'Media Matters' brushed off lawsuit as 'frivolous'
Media Matters president Angelo Carusone called the lawsuit "frivolous" and said it was "meant to bully X's critics into silence." Despite 11:11 Media halting its campaign on X, Hilton maintains an active presence on the platform through her personal account, boasting 16.6M followers. It's worth highlighting that X's recent revenue-sharing initiative for paid and verified users, which includes Hilton, has been successful in luring in many X users to get verified.
