TikTok has permanently banned the advertising account for Alex Gibney's documentary "Musk," according to reports. Distributor Bleecker Street was notified of the "permanent suspension," with both TechCrunch and The Verge citing The Hollywood Reporter. Neither TikTok nor Bleecker Street immediately responded to requests for comment.
The ban is the latest turn in a broader ad-rejection saga. The Verge reports that YouTube and Google reversed their earlier rejection, calling it an error, but TikTok and X have refused to allow paid ads. TechCrunch adds that Meta also eventually allowed the ad after initially rejecting it, blaming an error. The two outlets agree that X, owned by Musk, has declined to carry ads for the film.
The account's removal carried an ironic timing: just before suspension, the account posted that people should see the movie "before it gets shut down," per The Verge. TechCrunch notes the film opened in four theaters last weekend and is now rolling out more broadly, with a streaming slot on HBO—now part of Paramount/Skydance—planned for next year. The Verge also notes that TikTok part-owner Larry Ellison appears in the film via a text message offering to help fund Musk's Twitter purchase.