Martina Navratilova drops 4-word message targeting Elon Musk as State Department official's 2-year-old call for sterilizing 'feral' humans resurfaces

18-time Major singles champion Martina Navratilova used her social media presence to criticize the new US government. The Czech-born tennis legend has turned her ire upon Elon Musk this time.

Musk is also an integral part of Donald Trump's government and has been appointed to head a de facto government department, known as DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency).

Navratilova, a long-term Trump critic and civil rights activist, was incensed by a post on X (formerly Twitter) from a political commentator, and former senior government official who had reported on a comment made by Darren Beattie in 2023.

"Trump State Department Official Has Called for Sterilizing 'Feral' Populations," the individual wrote.

Martina Navratilova, who has 455,000 X (formerly Twitter) followers, responded angrily by stating:

"Start with Musk then!!!!

Darren Beattie is Trump's acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.

Musk's DOGE has had a controversial start to its life. The eccentric billionaire has set about restructuring US bureaucracy, according to Donald Trump's executive order to establish an entity to clean up government. Announcing that Musk would head up the body, Trump's order stated:

"This Executive Order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

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Martina Navratilova has challenged Elon Musk before

Martina Navratilova at The Championships - Wimbledon 2024 - Source: Getty

In January this year, Navratilova took to X to criticize the SpaceX entrepreneur's handling of the social media platform, after he announced a change to the X (formerly known as Twitter) algorithm to promote more informational/entertaining content. Navratilova was unforgiving in response, replying sarcastically:

"Talk about cooking the books."

Since retiring, Navratilova has used her various social media platforms to comment on several civil rights issues. She is a staunch critic on Donald Trump, and has also been critical of a number of his actions. Navratilova posted on X (formerly Twitter) last year, outlining her civil rights stance.

"Women's rights are also human rights," Martina Navratilova wrote.

At 67, Navratilova remains an icon of the tennis world. Her contribution to the women's game has been enormous - she was World No. 1 for 332 weeks, the second-most in history; she captured a total of 167 singles titles and 177 doubles titles, which remain Open Era records. The naturalized US citizen pocketed an astonishing 59 Major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.