Elon Musk’s X to pay legal bills for Brampton doctor chastised over COVID-19 tweets

Elon Musk’s X says it’s funding legal bills for a Canadian doctor previously chastised by regulators for her tweets about COVID-19.

In a post to the X News account on Sunday morning, the company formerly known as Twitter wrote that it’s “proud to defend” Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill against what it calls “government-supported efforts to cancel her speech.”

In 2021, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario cautioned the Brampton, Ont.-based pediatrics specialist over her tweets, including one saying vaccination for COVID-19 was unnecessary.

The doctor has an ongoing crowdfunding campaign asking for $300,000 to help pay for legal costs, including a cost order related to a lawsuit she launched against what she called a “malicious online smear campaign.”

Gill issued an X post saying Musk committed to paying the remainder of her crowdfunding campaign and helping her appeal the College’s cautions from 2021.

Gill tagged Musk in a post asking him for help earlier this week, saying she owed around $300,000 in costs that were due in four days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2024.