Dana White and Elon Musk might not have too many things in common… But one of them appears to be an unyielding stance towards sponsor interference.

Following a significant withdrawal of advertisers from Twitter over what some have deemed as “antisemitic posts” by Elon Musk, the SpaceX & Twitter CEO didn’t hold back.
During the Dealbook Conference, he shared his thoughts loud and clear:

If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f*ck yourself.

Go f*ck yourself.
Is that clear? I hope it is.

And, well, Dana White – speaking at the UFC Austin post-fight press conference – supported Musk’s remarks.
What’s more, he believes that their attitude is increasingly shared among business leaders.

Here is what the UFC CEO had to say:

There’s more people than just me and Elon now that feel that way.

It’s, like, just because you sponsor us doesn’t mean you run this business. And you’re definitely not telling me what to do.
That’s a fact. That’s never going to happen, ever.

The UFC CEO also recounted an incident involving the “Peloton” brand and comedian Theo Von.

Peloton had requested Von to take down a podcast episode featuring presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. In response, White ordered the removal of all Peloton bikes from UFC gyms.

I’ve got this new mindset. I look at sponsorships like relationships. Like being in a relationship with somebody.

If I’ve got to be in a relationship with somebody for six years, we better be aligned and we better think and feel the same way or you do your thing, do whatever you do.