A young woman facing deportation in Denmark has responded to the backlash against Elon Musk, who controversially suggested she deserved a visa exemption due to her appearance. Nineteen-year-old Audrey Morris, originally from Los Angeles but a resident of Denmark since she was nine, encountered visa complications that threatened her stay in the country earlier this year. Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, came across a since-deleted post on X discussing Morris’s situation and commented, sparking widespread criticism. “8 or above level hotness should get an exemption,” he wrote, accompanied by a laughing emoji, which many found inappropriate.
Reacting to Musk’s viral remark, Morris described the situation as “crazy” in an interview with The Daily Beast. “It’s definitely crazy,” she said. “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.”
Morris expressed disappointment that Musk failed to focus on her academic accomplishments or the fact she has been raised in Denmark, which she believes would have been more beneficial to her case. “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,” she remarked. Meanwhile, Musk’s online critics were less forgiving, chastising the 54-year-old for his comment towards the teenager, who turned 19 in August. “Calm down old man,” one critic suggested. “You are such a creepy loser. Billions of dollars and still creepy,” another commented. “You were 36 when she was born,” observed a third critic.
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.
