Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf responds to Elon Musk’s comments about him being a racist

By News Desk

After viewing an edited clip of a three-year-old speech by Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, billionaire businessman Elon Musk decided to publicly criticise him, referring to him as a “blatant racist” last week.

Musk’s comment ignited a significant uproar on social media. His response came in reaction to a post by ‘End Wokeness’, a verified account on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). The page shared an edited video footage from Yousaf’s speech in Holyrood following the murder of George Floyd in the US in 2020.

Yousaf, who is of Pakistani heritage and was serving as Scotland’s justice secretary back then, mentioned in his speech that people of colour were still under represented in senior positions.

He said: “Some people have been surprised or taken aback by my mention on my social media that at 99 per cent of the meetings that I go to, I am the only non-white person in the room.

“Why are we so surprised when the most senior positions in Scotland are filled almost exclusively by people who are white?

“Take my portfolio, for example. The Lord President? White. The Lord Justice Clerk? White. Every High Court judge? White. The Lord Advocate? White. The Solicitor General? White? The chief constable? White. Every deputy chief constable? White. Every assistant chief constable? White. The head of the Law Society? White. The head of the Faculty of Advocates? White. And every prison governor? White.”

Yousaf’s speech was part of a debate challenging racism where he informed that the situation was no different in other departments.

The edited clip that was posted was 45 seconds long and posted with the comments: “Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf openly despises white people” and “Why would Scotland’s Parliament and King select a guy who hates almost 100% of the country?”

In response to the post, Musk, who owns X, wrote: “What a blatant racist!”

On Friday last week, Yousaf posted a GIF in which he compared himself to the Scottish Asian shopkeeper character Navid, dancing in the TV comedy Still Game. The accompanying message stated: “Racists foaming at the mouth at my very existence.” He chose not to name anyone in the post.

Yousaf’s spokesman said that he “has been on the receiving end of racist hate, abuse and death threats his entire life, and has stood firm against hatred and bigotry, of any kind, throughout.

“Sadly, much of the racist abuse and threats of violence the first minister faces are directed his way on X – formerly known as Twitter.

“Mr Musk should use his position to tackle racism and hatred that goes unchecked on the social media platform he owns.”

Yousaf has been vocal about his experiences with racism and Islamophobia, and has added that the situation has become worse since the UK’s exit from the EU and Donald Trump’s election as the US president.