What to Know
Critics of Elon Musk often wonder how he has such a cool and funny daughter. On more than one occasion, Vivian Wilson’s own father has taken to social media to make transphobic comments about her, claiming that she has been affected by “the evil woke mind virus.”
Previously, when her 54-year-old billionaire dad publicly misgendered her and criticized her, Vivian, 21, updated her social media bios so that they read, “She/Her 🏳️⚧️ ‘Tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus’ Model/Digital Creator.” Now, she’s taken it a step further and is using her dad’s cruel comment to raise money to support LGBTQ+ youth.
Elon made the offensive comment when arguing with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press team.
Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon. https://t.co/HeJIm5fJMS
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) December 11, 2025
People really felt for Vivian when she was thrust into a debate between Elon and Gavin (and Nicki Minaj, for some reason), back in December 2025. The 21-year-old was not directly involved in the conversation at all, and yet, she was at the center of it.
The drama started when Elon’s political action committee shared a clip of Gavin talking about trans rights, presumably trying to argue that he was wrong for that. Gavin’s press office, which has gone viral for trolling conservatives multiple times, responded, “Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon.”
Gavin’s team was clearly referring to Vivian, who is estranged from her father. But Elon responded to the claim by misgendering and deadnaming Vivian. In the same sentence that he misgendered and deadnamed his own child, he claimed to love her. He also said she “has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children” and added that he hopes she “recovers.”
And if that wasn’t bad enough, he also went on to say that he only has three daughters and that they all love him “very much.”
Well, now, Vivian is selling “Evil Woke Mind Virus” merch.
Vivian recently shared a link to her new merch shop on social media, and some of the proceeds are going to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth. Those who are interested in helping Vivian raise money and troll her dad can purchase T-shirts, hats, tote bags, and even pet items that read “Evil Woke Mind Virus.” (Why not get your dog involved in trolling Elon too?) And people love that she’s doing this.
The reactions to Vivian’s posts about the merch were overwhelmingly positive. “Elon is just mad she’s way more popular and hotter than he could ever dream to be,” one person wrote on Instagram. Someone else said, “Daddy issues? More like you’re your daddy’s issue. AND I LOVE IT QUEEN.”
“I didn’t think you could get any more iconic,” someone else wrote.
Back in 2024, Elon claimed that this supposed “Woke Mind Virus” had “killed” Vivian.
When talking to psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, Elon made it clear that he knows what “deadnaming” is—yet he continues to do it anyway. “I lost my son, essentially,” he said at the time. “They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason. The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead.” This was when he said Vivian had been “killed by the woke mind virus.”
Vivian responded to these comments during an interview with NBC News. She said her dad was hardly involved in her life and was around “maybe 10% of the time.” When he was around, she said, he yelled at her because her voice was “too high.”
“He was cold,” she said at the time. “He’s very quick to anger. He is uncaring and narcissistic.”
READ NEXT: Vivian Wilson Reacts To Dad Elon Musk Mentioned In New Epstein File Release
