Mahathir responded that his comments were taken out of context and he was not "promoting massacre of the French." After Facebook and Twitter removed his posts, Mahathir criticised the social media platform's decision to remove his posts, accusing them of shielding those who had offended Muslims and made fun of the Prophet Muhammad. Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister James Jemut Masing, United States Ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, and Australian High Commissioner in Malaysia Andrew Goledzinowski also criticised Mahathir's remarks as unrepresentative of Malaysia and for advocating violence.