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Elon Musk said his estranged daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson—whom he shares with ex-wife Justine Wilson—was “killed” in his eyes by “the woke mind virus” after seeking gender-affirming care upon coming out as transgender.
In an interview with psychologist and conservative commentator Dr. Jordan Peterson, the X owner called gender-reassignment surgery “child mutilation and sterilization.” He then discussed his 20-year-old daughter, who he said underwent the procedures during the pandemic.
“I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier,” the 53-year-old told Daily Wire in an interview. “This was really before I had any understanding of what was going on, and we had COVID going on, so there was a lot of confusion.”
The Tesla CEO claimed he only agreed to sign the papers that gave Vivian permission to undergo gender-affirming care because he was told she “might commit suicide” if he didn’t.
“I lost my son, essentially. They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason. The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead.”
Elon Musk says his child transitioning means they’re “dead” to him. “Killed by the woke mind virus.”
This is every LGBT person’s nightmare reaction from their parents to them coming out.pic.twitter.com/vsAnepkAJA
— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) July 22, 2024
Besides misgendering his child by using ‘he/him’ pronouns instead of ‘she/her,’ he also referred to Vivian by her deadname, which is often seen as a form of overt aggression or microaggression. The intentional refusal to affirm a transgender person’s identity can harm a person’s mental health, according to child and adolescent psychiatrist Jason Lambrese, MD.
“It can remind them of that period in their lives before they could take steps to affirm who they are. Deadnaming might bring them back into those more negative times in their lives. And often, that gender dysphoria (distress that comes from one’s sex assigned at birth not lining up with their true gender identity) can be associated with depression and anxiety.”
But Musk doesn’t believe in any of the harm he may partake in and went on to say that the experience set him on a mission.
“I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that,” Musk said. “And we’re making some progress.” He recently made headlines by threatening to move X and SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas because of a new California policy prohibiting school districts from requiring teachers to inform parents if a child wants to be identified by a different gender.
Wilson was legally granted her name and gender change at age 18 at the Santa Monica courthouse in California on June 22, 2022.
She said the name change was due to gender identity and an apparent dislike of Musk, according to a petition filed on April 18, 2022, in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
“I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape, or form,” Wilson wrote in the petition.
