Elon Musk’s X to foot Indo-Canadian doctor’s legal bill. Here’s why
Elon Musk’s X has come to the rescue of an Indian-origin doctor in Canada, who was facing a steep legal battle over her Covid-19 tweets. X (formerly Twitter) will now foot Kulvinder Kaur Gill’s bill to help her pay $300,000 in legal fees.
“X is proud to help defend Dr Kulvinder Kaur Gill against the government-supported efforts to cancel her speech,” the Elon Musk-controlled company said.
X is proud to help defend Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill against the government-supported efforts to cancel her speech.@dockaurG is a practicing physician in Canada, specializing in immunology and pediatrics. Because she spoke out publicly on Twitter (now X) in opposition to theâæ https://t.co/IujDSeBGBN
— News (@XNews) March 24, 2024
Who is Kulvinder Kaur Gill, and what earned her the ire of the medical fraternity backed by the Canadian government? Moreover, why did the Elon Musk company decide to help her pay her legal bills.
Kulvinder Kaur Gill is an Indian-origin paediatrician in Canada who faced massive backlash over her posts that were critical of the Canadian government’s Covid policies.
It all resulted in $300,000 in legal bills for the Indo-Canadian doctor. She started a crowdfunding campaign and appealed to X.
“When Elon Musk learned earlier this week about her crowdfunding campaign to pay the judgement, he pledged to help,” X News said on Sunday (March 24).
KULVINDER KAUR GILL AND HER COVID TWEETS
Kulvinder Kaur Gill is a frontline physician in Ontario, Canada who supports fully informed voluntary consent without any forms of coercion or restriction in all medical decision-making, according to the crowdfunding website, which helped Gill to raise funds.
Gill is a physician practising for over a decade in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada. She is a specialist physician with postgraduate training in paediatrics, allergy and immunology.
“I practise in communities that are predominantly marginalised populations. A larger section of the community is working class, poor immigrants,” Gill said in an interview earlier in March.
During the summer of 2020, Gill courageously spoke out on social media about the serious harm caused by lockdowns.
However, she soon became the target of a coordinated online smear campaign, urging people to complain to her regulatory college.
“Doctor Gill is a practicing physician in Canada, specializing in immunology and pediatrics. Because she spoke out publicly on Twitter (now X) in opposition to the Canadian and Ontario governments’ COVID lockdown efforts and vaccination mandates, she was harassed by the legacy media, censored by prior Twitter management, and subjected to investigations and disciplinary proceedings by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario that resulted in ‘cautions’ being placed on her permanent public record,” X News said in a post on Sunday.
WHY ELON MUSK STEPPED IN TO HELP INDO-CANADIAN DOCTOR
To clear her name, she started legal proceedings against those responsible.
Unfortunately, a pre-trial ruling resulted in a hefty cost order of up to $1.2 million by October 2022.
Despite appeals, she faced a nearly $300K cost order by late February 2024, leaving her with limited time to pay.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by outpouring of kindness & generosity of Cdns & people globally. I’m reading all of your msgs/prayers. My sincerest thank you. We’re at 50% of fundraising goal of $300K with only 4 days left until the deadline. Pls donate what you can,” wrote Gill on X.
Earlier this week, Gill mentioned Musk in a post on X, seeking help to cover her legal expenses.
Hi @elonmusk @X—as one of the firstðèðæMDs to oppose lockdowns on twitter in 2020, in a socialized healthcare system where govt is sole-payer, I’ve been persecuted for 4yrs solely d/t my tweets. Pls help a fellow Cdn! ~$300K in court-ordered costs due in 4d:https://t.co/b0cc5pZIBk https://t.co/kpD3FzgnNK pic.twitter.com/nNSKGda1D0
— Kulvinder Kaur MD (@dockaurG) March 21, 2024
“Hi @elonmusk @X —as one of the first MDs to oppose lockdowns on twitter in 2020, in a socialized healthcare system where govt is sole-payer, I’ve been persecuted for 4yrs solely d/t my tweets. Pls help a fellow Cdn! ~$300K in court-ordered costs due in 4d,” she wrote.
X said Elon Musk had decided to step in and bail out Gill.
“.@elonmusk’s @X contacted me directly confirming Elon’s commitment to pay remainder of campaign to reach $300K AND Elon has committed to assisting my appeal of 3 CPSO cautions, for my 2020 tweets opposing lockdowns, to the very end (ONCA & SCC if needed) May Waheguru bless you,” wrote Gill on X.
.@elonmusk’s @X contacted me directly confirming Elon’s commitment to pay remainder of campaign to reach $300K AND Elon has committed to assisting my appeal of 3 CPSO cautions, for my 2020 tweets opposing lockdowns, to the very end (ONCA & SCC if needed)
May Waheguru bless youðð½ https://t.co/1fsIWmoVcS
— Kulvinder Kaur MD (@dockaurG) March 24, 2024
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and a critical defense against totalitarianism in all forms. We must do whatever we can to protect it, and at X we will always fight to protect your right to speak freely,” said X.
In August 2023, Musk promised to fund the legal bills of anyone who was “unfairly treated” by employers “due to posting or liking something on this platform”.
The help extended by Elon Musk-owned X to Kulvinder Kaur Gill is part of that promise.
