Benzinga - Since taking over social media platform Twitter, new owner and CEO Elon Musk has put forth many changes. Among the biggest changes is the Twitter Blue subscription program, charging users to have their accounts verified.
A change to the verification process happened on Thursday and many celebrities reacted to the change.
What Happened: Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 after taking an initial stake in January and later making an offer to acquire the company outright, in what would become one of the most talked about stories of 2022.
In November 2022, Musk confirmed that the Twitter Blue verification system would be changing. Under previous Twitter management, there were blue checkmarks for accounts on the platform that were deemed to be celebrities, members of the media, or noteworthy. The move was done to eliminate the potential of people impersonating them.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls***. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk tweeted in November.
On Thursday, many on social media were quick to highlight that many celebrity and notable accounts are now missing their blue checkmarks, signaling that they are not paying the monthly subscription fee required for the new Musk-led Twitter Blue.
Benzinga highlighted the accounts of Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates and J.K Rowling were among the big names without blue checks.
It was also noted that several famous voices who previously opposed paying for blue checkmarks had blue checks on Thursday, which prompted follow-up from Musk that he was paying for several verifications “personally.” This included LeBron James, Stephen King and William Shatner, according to Musk.
Related Link: It's Official, Elon Musk Rolls out New $8 Subscriptions Offering For Twitter Blue Verification
Celebrities React: While many celebrities took to Twitter to voice their displeasure in the new Twitter Blue subscription program, here are some of the best that were found by Benzinga.
Alyssa Milano: The actress changed her Twitter bio to include “Not paying for a blue check mark!”
“So by revoking my blue check mark because I wouldn’t pay some arbitrary fee, someone can just be me and say a bunch of bulls***. Does that mean Twitter and @elonmusk are liable for defamation of identity theft and fraud?” Milano tweeted.
Bette Midler: “Elon deciding that I’m not me, I’m a fake & obliging ME, who has contributed mightily to your platform (at least until you ‘tweaked the algorithm & tanked my metrics’) to pay monthly because you don’t have enough money & you’re humiliated b/c everyone thinks you’re a pathetic douc**, is the funniest thing you’ve ever done. Let that sink in. Sorry to hear about your rocket," Midler tweeted.
Yvette Nicole Brown: Actress has posted several times about losing the blue checkmark and often used the hashtag “Wearetheresistance.” Brown also replied to Milano’s tweet above saying, “He chose to take away the thing that protected folks from those kind of shenanigans.
“We are officially blue check mark FREE! We are the resistance!”
Brown also questioned removing the blue checkmarks of names such as Janet Jackson and Mark Hamill.
“When you remove the verification of THE @MarkHamill you are dead inside,” Brown tweeted with the hashtag “SithEnergy.”
Ryan Whitney: Former NHL player and Barstool Sports podcaster took to Twitter to state his displeasure for the entire Twitter blue check mark system.
“I never wanted a blue check mark to begin with. Now it’s easy to see the pigeons who actually pay for this dumpster fire of an app,” Whitney tweeted.
Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson: Former NFL player replied to a user who asked why he didn't have a blue checkmark.
"Why would i pay $8 when I’m Chad Johnson," Johnson tweeted.
Sesame Street Characters: While many were critical of losing their blue check marks, several Sesame Street characters may have provided some fresh voices to the debate.
“Elmo will miss you, little blue check mark. But don’t worry everybody. Elmo is still Elmo!" Elmo tweeted.
Big Bird quote tweeted Elmo and offered to help saying, “Do you need help finding it Elmo? Do you remember where you last had it?
Grover also shared that he lost his blue checkmark.
“My cute adorable blue checkmark is now gone, but I, your cute adorable blue monster, am still here!” Grover tweeted.
A popular grumpy Sesame Street character appears to be happy at losing their blue check mark.
“Maybe everyone will stay away now that I don’t have a blue checkmark!” Oscar the Grouch said.
Cookie Monster, known for being a lover of cookies, appears to be okay with losing his blue check: "You can take away me blue checkmark, but me cookies off limits!" Cookie Monster tweeted.
Read Next: AOC Rips Into Elon Musk's Removal Of Twitter Blue Ticks
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