Billionaire Elon Musk joked about hummus while discussing the war waged by Israel against Hamas with podcaster Joe Rogan.
The duo were in the middle of criticizing the New York Times when Musk made the joke on Tuesday.
“I find the New York Times these days to be hard to read,” Musk said.
“Well unfortunately, they make some grave errors, like that Hamas bombing the—,” Rogan replied, referencing the Times‘ story about the bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza.
The publication walked back its initial coverage, stating that it “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified.”
In an editor’s note, the Times additionally noted that “Israel subsequently denied being at fault and blamed an errant rocket launch by the Palestinian faction group Islamic Jihad, which has in turn denied responsibility” and that U.S. and international officials believe the evidence points to the rocket being launched from within Gaza.
But before Rogan could finish his sentence, Musk interrupted with his one-liner.
“Hummus?” he asked, adding, “I mean, chickpeas?”
“It’s delicious,” Rogan said after finishing his thought.
“We should cut off chickpea exports,” Musk said. “That’ll bring them to their knees right away. What are you gonna do, take a chip and dip it in nothing?”
Rogan countered: “What we need to do is introduce them to pineapple and anchovy pizza.”
Video of Musk and Rogan’s discussion was shared by the X account “Republicans Against Trump,” and drew some criticism online.
“dude is making hummus jokes while talking about a terrorist attack and genocide. absolutely unsurprising coming from some like Musk tho,” replied one X user.
“This is what money and free speech looks like,” wrote another.
Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of war against Hamas on Oct. 7 in the wake of Hamas’ attack against Israeli civilians, Musk has come under fire for his responses to the war.
He recommended X users follow accounts that had previously spread misinformation for war updates and was criticized by Israeli officials directly after he offered to send Starlink technology to Gaza following an internet blackout in Gaza City.
