- Elon Musk mentioned he is personally paying for a number of prime celebrities’ Twitter Blue subscriptions.
- He tweeted on Thursday that he is paid subscriptions for Stephen King, LeBron James, and Stephen King.
- Twitter eliminated legacy verification badges this week, and prices $8 for a blue verify.
Billionaire Elon Musk says he is personally paying for a number of well-known figures to remain on Twitter Blue after they refused to fork up $8 for a month-to-month subscription.
NBA star LeBron James, Canadian actor William Shatner, and creator Stephen King are among the many chosen few, Musk tweeted on Thursday evening.
King, who previously railed against the idea of paying to retain his blue check, mentioned on Thursday that he by no means paid for verification.
“My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I have not. My Twitter account says I’ve given a cellphone quantity, I have not,” he tweeted.
“You are welcome namaste,” Musk responded to King.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
Twitter this week rolled out its long-anticipated revoking of legacy verification badges for anybody who is not subscribed to its $8-per-month service.
Nevertheless, The Verge’s Alex Heath and Jay Peters reported that some celebrities, just like the Los Angeles Lakers’ James, got complimentary subscriptions to Twitter Blue. James acquired an e mail from Twitter providing free verification “on behalf of Elon Musk,” the outlet reported.
Adam Mendelsohn, James’ media advisor, confirmed that James did not pay for the subscription, per The Verge.
The basketball star tweeted earlier this month that he “ain’t paying the 5” for verification.
—LeBron James (@KingJames) March 31, 2023
James was revealed in March to be one of many 35 “VIP customers” that had their accounts’ visibility boosted by Twitter, Platformer’s Zoë Schiffer reported.
As for Shatner, the actor criticized Musk instantly in March for eradicating blue checks from free customers. “Now you are telling me that I’ve to pay for one thing you gave me without spending a dime?” he tweeted.
Rapper Ice T seems to have additionally retained his blue checkmark on Twitter with out paying for it. “Hey. Perhaps it’s going to disappear quickly,” he tweeted on Thursday. “F it.”
“Do not imagine the hype,” he also tweeted in response to King announcing he never paid for Twitter Blue.
Musk on Wednesday responded to the net dialogue of celebrities receiving free verification, saying he is “paying for a few personally” to keep their Twitter Blue subscriptions.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
In the meantime, a slew of huge names in the identical industries have misplaced their Twitter verification badges, akin to Halle Berry, Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Colbert, J.K. Rowling, and 50 Cent. Over in South Korea, KPop supergroup BTS additionally misplaced its blue checkmark.
Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment sent outside regular business hours. The company responded with an automated message that did not address Insider’s queries.
