As many Twitter users are calling foul on Elon Musk’s plan to charge $8 a month for a blue “verified” checkmark, the company’s new CEO showed Kathy Griffin that nobody is above the company’s “terms and conditions.”
Kathy — and other users, including for a short time Valerie Bertinelli — thought it snarky to protest the new charge by turning their Twitter handles to “Elon Musk.” However, impersonating somebody on Twitter has always been a ban-worthy move, so Musk, in turn, switched off Griffin’s access to her account.
When Benny Johnson, an anchor for Newsmax took note of this, Musk responded to him Sunday by dropping a now-viral diss. “Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian,” Elon wrote, earning more than 400,000 likes. One user even posted a picture of Griffin from her infamous Trump decapitation photo, but instead of a bloody head, she’s holding a bloody “checkmark” picture.
Elon then added, “But if she really wants to have her account back, she can,” before adding the cheeky caveat, “For $8.”
He later posted, “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” and that anyone who violates will lose their coveted tick.
Critics in the past have accused Twitter of withholding — or in some cases deleting — checkmarks from conservative voices on the platform.
Musk claims that by monetizing the symbol, he’s trying to democratize the process to steer it away from the “lords and peasants” former system.
Griffin returned to Twitter later Sunday evening using her “dead mother’s account,” saying Maggie Griffin “would not mind.” However, that, too, is a violation of the impersonation rules.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Music notes: Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and more
May 16, 2024
Did you watch The Idea of You on Prime Video and come away from it wishing the film's boy band was…
Ed Sheeran surprises college students, performs alongside them
May 16, 2024
ABC/Paula LoboOne of Ed Sheeran's favorite things to do is drop in on schools unexpectedly and meet…
Blake Lively is Lily Bloom in first trailer for ‘It Ends with Us’
May 16, 2024
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty ImagesThe trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of…
Stephen Sanchez records new original song for soundtrack of Disney+ Beach Boys documentary
May 16, 2024
Mercury RecordsStephen Sanchez is putting his retro sound to good use. The "Until I Found You"…
Olivia Munn speaks on her breast cancer journey in first TV interview since surgeries
May 16, 2024
ABC NewsOlivia Munn is opening up in her first TV interview since revealing her most recent…
Kelly Clarkson recalls doing karaoke with Amy Winehouse years before Amy was famous
May 16, 2024
Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversalWhen Amy Winehouse died tragically in 2011 at age 27, she was a global…
Adam Driver reteams with Jim Jarmusch for new film with Cate Blanchett
May 16, 2024
Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic via Getty ImagesAdam Driver is reteaming with Jim Jarmusch for his…
New songs by Benson Boone, Jelly Roll & more featured on soundtrack for new movie ‘Twisters’
May 16, 2024
Atlantic RecordsThe upcoming movie Twisters, described as a "current-day chapter" of the 1996 film…