In a peculiar twist of events, Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has come under fire for his controversial remarks concerning a young woman facing deportation from Denmark. Audrey Morris, a 19-year-old originally hailing from Los Angeles, has lived in Denmark since the age of nine. Earlier this year, she found herself at risk of deportation due to complications with her visa. Musk, having stumbled upon a since-deleted post on X that highlighted Morris’ plight, made a comment that sparked widespread backlash. “8 or above level hotness should get an exemption,” he remarked, complete with a crying and laughing emoji, a statement many criticized as inappropriate and offensive.

Morris, in an interview with The Daily Beast, described the unfolding drama as “crazy.” She explained, “It’s definitely crazy. I wasn’t surprised [by Musk’s input], I guess you could say, because from the beginning, the second that my case was kind of made public, it has been about appearances and because, ‘oh, she’s blonde and she’s white.’ The thing he said in itself wasn’t shocking to me, but coming from him… I was floored.”

Expressing disappointment, Morris lamented that Musk missed an opportunity to highlight her academic accomplishments or the fact that she has grown up in Denmark. She noted that such attention “could have been so helpful” for her situation. However, Morris remains hopeful, stating, “If this just at least brings it to the attention of anyone who cares, then I’m fine with being embarrassed a little bit. That’s okay.”

Morris was originally from Los Angeles but moved with her family to Aarhus, Denmark, when she was nine while her mother pursued a PhD. Between then and 2024, she remained on her mother’s visa ‘as an accompanying child’, but that lapsed. She first encountered an issue with the visa when she moved into her high school dorms in a different city. After formally changing her address, she learned it was against the conditions of her visa to not be residing under the same roof as her mother.

While her mother and 15-year-old brother have since been granted citizenship, Morris’ future was uncertain as her citizenship application was denied. She has since been granted a 10-year residency permit, but the thought of potentially having to return to the United States is still on her mind. In January, she told local media outlet Stifstidende: ‘I have my grandparents and some friends in the USA. But Denmark is my home. ‘I am as Danish as a foreigner can possibly be.’ Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Musk for comment.