Elon Musk Promotes ‘Anti-Migrant’ Armie Hammer Film With Free Download on X

A German film starring Armie Hammer that was allegedly denied a certificate by the German ratings board for “inciting violence against immigrants” has secured worldwide distribution and an explosion in its viewing figures after a bizarre intervention by Elon Musk.

Citizen Vigilante, a thriller starring Hammer, and written and directed by Uwe Boll, was posted free on Musk’s account on X from Thursday to Sunday, resulting in a major boost to its marketing and commercial profile. The film was released in the US on 19 June by Quiver Distribution, which according to Variety, has now acquired worldwide rights. Musk also posted: “Citizen Vigilante 2 will be even better.”

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Musk’s intervention has resulted in the film acquiring cachet in the ongoing culture war, in which Musk has regularly supported far-right anti-immigrant activists, most recently after the knife attack in Belfast in June. Boll told Variety that Musk had contacted the makers of his podcast Uwe Boll Raw to request the film. “I didn’t really chat myself with him or talk to him. It was very quick, you know. I think this guy, I don’t know what he’s doing per day, but I think his attention went like fast, you know. So, I felt also if we don’t in a way agree to do it, he would’ve just moved on.”

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