Brace yourselves for some wild off-field drama! Elon Musk just tore into Brazil’s top judge, Alexandre de Moraes, amid a massive social media shutdown in the country. Ahead of next Friday’s highly anticipated NFL game in São Paulo, Brazil has taken a controversial step—banning X nationwide.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted the breaking news: “As of today, X is already blocked by many if not most telephone and internet service providers in Brazil. The most shocking part is how Brazil’s authoritarian censorship judge, Alexandre de Moraes, also invented a new law that fines anyone using a VPN to access X $10,000/day.” Greenwald’s tweet is dripping with outrage and disbelief. He’s calling out the extreme censorship happening in Brazil, from the massive social media block to the jaw-dropping new law that slaps $10k fines on anyone using a VPN to get around it.

Musk didn’t hold back, unleashing a scathing critique of Brazil’s top judge, Alexandre de Moraes. He didn’t just retweet Greenwald’s breaking news—he turned up the heat by calling Moraes a dictator in disguise. “I keep telling people that this guy @alexandre (Alexandre de Moraes) is the dictator of Brazil, NOT a judge. He just wears that as a costume. He has supreme executive, judicial, and legislative power, aka dictator. The cloak he wears is to trick fools in the West into thinking that he’s a judge.” According to the businessman, Moraes isn’t playing the role of a judge; he’s got a full-on dictatorship act going, with power across all branches of government. Musk’s take? It’s all a smokescreen to fool the outside world into thinking he’s just a regular judge.

Per the New York Times, the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice ordered a nationwide ban of X after Elon Musk blew off a court order to shut down some accounts. The Tesla Motors CEO fired back, calling it out: “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.” The court described Musk as an “outlaw” bent on spreading wrong information and undermining democracy by blocking access to accurate information.

As the NFL preps for a big game in São Paulo, Brazil’s social media crackdown’s causing a stir, with Musk’s comments stoking the flames. With X banned and Moraes in the hot seat, Eagles’ DeVonta Smith gives a cryptic update on playing in São Paulo against the Packers.

DeVonta Smith’s silence on NFL off-field drama and crisis

“No comment.” Sometimes, less is more, especially when it’s from Philadelphia WR DeVonta Smith. His cryptic reply about the big NFL game in São Paulo on Sept. 6 has got everyone talking. Smith usually talks more than a play-by-play announcer, so this radio silence is raising eyebrows.

This isn’t just a game; it’s a 4,754-mile journey to Arena Corinthians, and it’s stirring up more buzz than a late-season touchdown. Packers RB Josh Jacobs initially suggested the team might need armored escorts and hinted at dangers with wearing green, but he quickly retracted after causing a stir. The NFL assured fans that the green-wearing ban, common in soccer rivalries, won’t apply here.

But it’s not just the long flight causing drama. São Paulo’s in the midst of a wildfire crisis, with a record-breaking 5,281 fires reported since 1998. The blazes have scorched 20,000 hectares and turned hospitals into chaos zones, treating a surge of respiratory issues. Environment Minister Marina Silva didn’t sugarcoat it: “Brazil is at war against fire and crime.”

With all this going on, player safety is a major concern. Eagles WR AJ Brown spilled the tea on team meetings, which included advice like avoiding phone use on the streets. Brown’s take? “After hearing all that stuff, I’m probably gonna be in my room.” As the NFL preps for this high-stakes showdown, both teams are bracing for a game that’s just as wild off-field as it is on.