Photo: Kevin C. Cox (Getty Images)
The battle between Twitter CEO Elon Musk and the legacy verified accounts with blue checkmarks that for years made the platform attractive is at a standstill—for now, at least. April 1, the day Musk said he would remove checkmarks from anyone who didn’t pay $8 for Twitter Blue, came and went, but the blue checkmarks remained.
While some speculated that the delay was simply technical, given that there is no surefire way to remove batches blue checkmarks, I’m betting all those high-profile Twitter users railing against the change and declaring that they wouldn’t pay Musk $8 made the head honcho hesitate. Some of those cranky blue checkmarked users included LeBron James, Chrissy Teigen, and Ice-T.
“oh my god just take the checkmark already who cares,” Teigen tweeted on March 31.
On the media and organization side, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Insider, BuzzFeed, and Politico were nay on paying for blue checkmarks (Gizmodo also isn’t paying). The White House also does not plan to fork over the cash.
As Nathan Hubbard, Twitter’s former vice president of global commerce and media, put it: “tweets from high-profile people with blue checkmarks are Twitter’s lifeblood.” In fact, almost all of the engagement on Twitter happens with high-profile accounts, he explained.
“[W]hat Twitter is going to start doing [on April 1] flips the equation - it is going to ask its most important creators to *pay Twitter* instead of the other way around,” Hubbard tweeted on March 31. “If most OG blue checks stop tweeting in protest of being asked to pay to create the content that Twitter lives by…Twitter dies.”
So Musk held off. However, to save face, he simply made it more difficult to tell who had a legacy blue checkmark and who had paid for it with their Twitter Blue subscription. To be petty, Musk did take away the New York Times’ official checkmark.
“This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account,” read the new message that appears when you hover over a blue checkmark.
Responding to a tweet about the change reading “checkmate,” Musk replied with “😌,” the relieved face emoji. Confusion erupted among people with blue checkmarks across the platform, although at least some former critics thought it was OK.
“I can live with this. This is a good compromise @elonmusk,” actor William Shatner said in a tweet. “My best, Bill.”
Click through to see more than a dozen celebrities who said “thanks but no thanks” to paying for their blue checkmarks.
Photo: Douglas P. DeFelice (Getty Images)
LeBron James probably caused the most ruckus about his refusal to pay for his blue checkmark, partly because his response was funny and partly because he’s become known for being famously cheap. Back in 2017, his former teammate Dwayne Wade said James was a cheapskate. In response, James said: “That is so, so falsely true. I’m not turning on data roaming, I’m not buying no apps, I still got Pandora with commercials. I’m not paying for it.”
James evoked his famous words when he declared he was not paying for Twitter Blue to keep his blue checkmark.
“Welp guess my blue [checkmark] will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5,” he tweeted on March 31.
Photo: Frazer Harrison (Getty Images)
Chrissy Teigen, meanwhile, was so over the blue checkmark discourse. She started March 31 by saying, “oh my god just take the checkmark already who cares,” and in a follow-up tweet implied that her husband John Legend would not pay for his blue checkmark, either.
“going to bed tonight with my checkmark husband, knowing it will all be over by morning,” Teigen said.
Photo: Amy Sussman (Getty Images)
Jack Black told Variety on April 1 that he wasn’t sure if he was going to pay for his blue checkmark, adding that he was a bit embarrassed by it.
“Maybe it’s cooler not to have checks. It’s definitely not cool to pay for it,” Black said. “I’m gonna see what happens if I don’t pay for it. I’m gonna call [Elon Musk’s] bluff, see if he really takes my check away.”
Photo: Bennett Raglin (Getty Images)
William Shatner argued with Musk over his blue checkmark on Twitter on March 25 and asked why he was being asked to pay for something he was given for free. Shatner has been on Twitter for 15 years. In response, Musk said making folks pay for their checkmarks was “about treating everyone equally. There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities imo.”
“That would be wonderful in a perfect world where equality thrives. Yet that’s not reality, is it? Somewhere, Twitter lost its way. Blue checks were guardrails to legitimacy; not meaningless status symbols,” Shatner tweeted. “So while those are nice sentiments my friend; you already know each & every celebrity, gvt agency & well known person who are verified. The $7/mo “equality” claim seems like a money grab. There’s nothing wrong with money grabs if you are clear upfront. You aren’t.”
On April 3, Shatner tweeted that he was OK with Musk’s new message on blue checkmarks.
Photo: Frazer Harrison (Getty Images)
Mark Hamill told the world he was preparing to lose his blue checkmark, meaning that he had decided not to pay for Twitter Blue. Hamill, like many others on Twitter, was confused on April 1 when he saw he still had his checkmark.
“Took this screenshot in anticipation of becoming blue check-less today. Surprisingly, it didn’t happen... yet. Any chance this is [Elon Musk’s] idea of an #AprilFoolsDay joke?” Hamill said.
Photo: Rich Fury (Getty Images)
Jason Alexander and said he would leave Twitter if Musk took away his blue checkmark over fears of impersonation.
“Friends, there are bigger issues in the world than the blue verified checkmark next to my name on this account. But without it, anyone can allege to be me. So, if I lose that checkmark know I will leave this platform. Anyone appearing with it=an imposter. I tell you this while I’m still official,” Alexander said on March 28.
Photo: Chris Unger (Getty Images)
Patrick Mahomes took the humor route and let his fans know he couldn’t pay $8 for Twitter Blue and a checkmark because of his responsibilities.
“Can’t bro i got kids…” Mahomes said on March 31.
Photo: Gregory Shamus (Getty Images)
Darius Slay joined other celebs in being over the blue checkmark debate and declined to pay to keep it. The people it would affect in the end, Slay argued, were the fans.
“They can have my blue check,” Slay said on Twitter on March 31. “fans might tag the wrong name now when someone catch a ball on me!!”
Photo: Jerod Harris (Getty Images)
Monica Lewinsky joined others on Twitter worried about impersonation and pointed out that there were countless accounts who had changed their name to “Monica Lewinsky,” one of which was verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue.
“in what universe is this fair to people who can suffer consequences for being impersonated? a lie travels half way around the world before truth even gets out the door,” Lewinsky wrote on March 26. “i’m on insta @monica_lewinsky.”
Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer (Getty Images)
Dionne Warwick said she could buy hot lattes with the money Musk was charging for Twitter Blue, which she preferred.
“I am not paying for a blue check. That money could (and will) be going towards my extra hot lattes,” Warwick tweeted on March 31.
Photo: Kevin Winter (Getty Images)
Ben Stiller kept it chill and simply tried to enjoy his last night with a blue checkmark.
“My last blue check night, loving this #Knick game,” Stiller said on March 31.
Photo: Todd Kirkland (Getty Images)
Michael Thomas pointed out what was obvious to many legacy verified Twitter users, which was aptly pointed out by the Verge: Paying for blue checks was thoroughly uncool.
“Don’t nobody want that raggedy blue check no way anymore,” he tweeted on March 31.
Photo: Christopher Polk (Getty Images)
Ice-T got salty and said to hell with the checkmark (with more colorful language). The rapper was also not going to pay $8 for Twitter Blue.
“I heard Twitter is gonna take away the Blue checkmarks if you don’t pay... Fuck that checkmark... I guess it matters to some people..” Ice-T said on March 29.
Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez (Getty Images)
The Boys star Karl Urban declared he was going checkless and warned fans against people pretending to be him asking for money.
“Hey y’all , I’ll loose the blue tick on Saturday,” Urban tweeted on March 28. “I’m opposed to spending money on social media. I’ll go checkless. Please be careful of Imposters & money soliciting scams. I will never ask you for money on any social media platform. Cheers K”
Photo: Jason Kempin (Getty Images)
Jason Isbell announced that he wasn’t going to buy a blue checkmark on March 31, ironically telling fans to give impersonators all their money.
“If the blue checkmark goes away and someone claiming to be me asks you for money please send them all your money they are me,” Isbell tweeted.
Photo: Larry French (Getty Images)
Dan Rather reminded folks that he was on a lot of other platforms and did not want to pay for a blue checkmark.
“Happy to pay for a lot of things. A blue checkmark on THIS website ain’t one of them. A reminder, I am on Substack. Free subscriptions available,” Rather said on March 31, including a link to his Steady newsletter. “And no algorithms controlled by certain people (unlike this website).”
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