Ayo Edebiri has revealed she received “insane death threats and racial slurs” after Elon Musk shared a false report claiming she would replace Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
The Emmy-winning star of The Bear took to Instagram to call out the billionaire for seemingly spreading misinformation about her that led to online harassment.
Edebiri later clarified that her posts were not intended to stir controversy, stating she was “just tryna have a silly goofy time”. (sic)
In February 2024, Musk shared a post on his platform X with the headline “Disney Considers Ayo Edebiri as Replacement for Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates 6’.”
The X owner added his own comment to the post, simply writing “Disney sucks”, leaving the fake report to quickly gain traction and receiving over 60 million views and thousands of engagements.
There have been no credible reports suggesting Edebiri was ever in consideration for a role in the Pirates franchise.
The star received death threats because of Elon Musk’s post
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She shared a screenshot of Musk’s initial post to her Instagram story and wrote: “Just remembering when I got some of the most insane death threats and racial slurs of my life.
“(idk if it’s the #1 moment, but for sure top 3) for a fake reboot of a movie I had never even heard of because of this man. So not only is he a double s**g h**ing fascist, he’s an idiot but anyway.” (sic)
The actress also shared comedian Bill Burr’s criticism of Musk, adding a bullseye emoji and writing: “Bill Burr. Every time!”
Burr had said on NPR’s podcast Fresh Air: “I’m trying to get regular people to stop yelling at each other and realise that it’s a select few group of nerds eating raw almonds and doing their stupid workouts and competing with each other to have the biggest infinity pool, and the rest of us are getting pushed down.
The star recieved support from her fans
“They’ve politicised the whole stupid thing, and we’re falling for it. That idiot Elon Musk, who evidently is a Nazi,” Burr strongly claimed.
“I just refuse to believe it was an accidental two-time Sieg Heil [by Musk], and he does it at a presidential inauguration!”
When her posts began making headlines, Edebiri issued a follow-up message on Wednesday and once again wrote on her social media: “Stop making my IG stories news. I’m just tryna have a silly goofy time.”
After a friend messaged that she would actually be great in a Pirates film, Edebiri jokingly responded: “Wait not DEI, but I’ve changed my mind maybe we could make some money idk lmk.” (sic)
The actress appeared to be addressing Disney directly in her humorous reply.
Several people online came to Edebiri’s defence and praised her words following her admission about the immense impact of Musk’s trolling.
The star soon found the funny side to the rumour
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“The way she read him for filth omg…” one commented before another added: “And that’s why I stan her.”
Someone else simply penned: “Oh she ate with that.” (sic)
The status of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise remains uncertain, with multiple ideas in development.