Brazilian first lady Janja Lula da Silva uses expletives against Elon Musk

Brazil’s first lady has sworn in billionaire Elon Musk at an event ahead of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Speaking in favor of tighter regulation of social media at a panel on disinformation, Janja Lula da Silva appeared startled by a loud noise and joked: “I think it’s Elon Musk.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she went on to say, then cursed at the billionaire who owns Tesla and social media platform X.

Musk, who was tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency in incoming US President Donald Trump’s administration, has a complicated relationship with Brazil and its left-wing government. X was briefly banned there this year.

He reposted a video of the incident with the caption “lol”.

In another post, Musk added two laughing emojis and wrote: “They’re going to lose the next election,” apparently referring to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party.

Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered a nationwide ban on X after it failed to name a legal representative in the country and suspended accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation. The the ban was lifted after the platform paid a fine of DKK 5.1 million. USD (£3.8m). more than a month later.

But Musk is also allied with Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who was found guilty of discrediting the electoral system after losing in 2022. Despite eight-year ban preventing him from standing for electionhe has declared his intention to stand again in the next election to be held in 2026.

Bolsonaro, who reposted a screenshot of the video and Musk’s response, said: “We now have another diplomatic problem.”

Leaders of the G20 nations will meet for the summit starting on Monday.