Twitter has finally pulled all the legacy verified checkmarks from accounts that haven’t subscribed to Twitter Blue, leaving those who agreed to shell out $8/month as the only ones with blue or gold checks. After it was revealed that Stephen King and LeBron James still have their shiny blue badges (despite confirming that they didn’t pay for them), the celebrities/harshest Twitter Blue critics’ secret sponsor finally revealed themselves.
After both celebrities declared their shock that the blue checkmark was still attached to their account, Elon Musk came out and confirmed that he’s paying for some celebrities’ Twitter Blue subscriptions, hence why they still have that checkmark next to their name. The Twitter CEO told the horror author “You’re welcome,” despite King not giving any hints of gratitude or desire to retain his blue checkmark.
This type of special treatment has caused a divide among Musk’s followers. Some criticized the CEO for backing out from his stance of “equal treatment” between celebrities and the average Joe. One also pointed out that if some people are getting a free ride from Musk, it means that some of the paid subscribers’ money went towards celebrities and those who Musk believes should keep their badges.
In case you’re wondering if this is a long list, it’s not. Musk has confirmed that he’s only paying for three people only — William Shatner, LeBron James, and Stephen King. Aka, Musk’s harshest critics.
It’s no secret that Musk is using his power as Twitter CEO to ensure that he gets the most advantages when it comes to his Twitter usage, but nobody expected that Musk would share that power with some of his harshest critics. Ever since the paid verification system was introduced, King has been very vocal about the system change. The author expressed his horror when he learned that verified badges would cost around $20 a month, which led to the price dropping to the $8 we see today.
Multiple celebrities, such as Jack Black and Halle Berry, have expressed their disinterest in paying for their badge. At the same time, to entice users to pay for the Twitter Blue subscription, it was revealed that people with checkmarks will be the only ones who can participate in Twitter polls.
At the end of the day, it’s interesting to see that he’s willing to spend money on critics just so they might approve of his leadership.