Actor and Hocus Pocus star Bette Midler called Twitter CEO Elon Musk a “worm” as she expressed frustration after losing blue tick verification on the social media platform.
Midler said she was now “unverified” in a viral tweet on Thursday that has gained over 1,000,000 views on the platform.
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“Elon took my blue check away! I’m unverified! After all these years and thousands of tweets and free content, this worm has the nerve to de-certify me!” she wrote.
Elon took my blue check away! I’m unverified! After all these years and thousands of tweets and free content, this worm has the nerve to de-certify me!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) April 20, 2023
Before Elon Musk acquired Twitter, only verified accounts of some celebrities, politicians, journalists, and other persons of interest has the blue tick that confirmed they were real people.
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On Thursday, Musk delivered on his promise to remove the legacy checkmarks of those who were verified by Twitter under the platform’s old ownership. The company’s decision caused personalities like former President Donald Trump, actor Dwayne Johnson, Hilary Clinton, and Taylor Swift to lose their blue checkmarks.
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Currently, only government accounts, like President Joe Biden’s official Twitter account, are eligible for free verification. Individuals and businesses will no longer have a blue tick mark unless they pay Twitter $8 per month.
However, some celebrities have refused to pay $8 per month for the blue check verification service. NBA star LeBron James declined Twitter’s offer to take his blue check mark back but he still appears with the check as of Saturday morning.
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On Thursday, Musk said that he is paying for a few accounts personally.
Other celebrities, such as John Cena and Conor McGregor have maintained their verifications by paying for Twitter Blue.
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According to advocates of Musk’s new verification strategy, it will level the playing field between upcoming independent journalists, content creators, and legacy companies and brands. On the other hand, opponents claim that the move devalues verification for genuine public personalities, as anyone can buy blue checkmark verification regardless of their reputation or accomplishments.
