but hurled expletives against advertisers that suspended their ads, accusing them of “blackmail.”

Even if there was a totally illegitimate and unethical reason people were mad at X, that’s still not “blackmail”. That’s just business. No business wants to have their brand tarnished or lose money. That’s the opposite goal of advertising. No business would continue to lose money in pursuit of “free speech”. Only Musk will do that.