‘Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye’
A number of celebrities have decided to leave Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social platform last week.
On Friday, it was confirmed that the Tesla CEO had officially purchased Twitter for $44 billion (£38 billion) following months of uncertainty over whether the deal would go through.
But this has led to several celebs deciding that Musk’s arrival was the signal for their departure.
Many are concerned that Musk’s acquisition of the platform will lead to an increase in hate speech and abuse, due to his laissez-faire attitude to what should and shouldn’t be allowed on Twitter.
US television screenwriter Shonda Rhimes – best known for being the head writer on Grey’s Anatomy – announced her departure from the social media site.
She wrote: “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.”
Actor Ken Olin from series Thirtysomething (1987)also revealed he would be packing his virtual bags and heading off.
He said: “Hey all – I’m out of here. No judgement.
“Let’s keep the faith. Let’s protect our democracy. Let’s try to be kinder. Let’s try to save the planet. Let’s try to be more generous. Let’s look to find peace in the world.”
Meanwhile Bill and Ted actor Alex Winter also appears to have left the site, with his account no longer being accessible.
Frozen actor Josh Gad is also debating whether or not to leave the platform.
He said: “Large exodus happening on this platform. Not sure if I stay or not.
“Leaning toward staying, but if today is a sign of things to come, not sure what the point is.
“Freedom of speech is great. Hate speech intended to incite harm, (with no consequences) ain’t what I signed up for.”
Large exodus happening on this platform. Not sure if I stay or not. Leaning toward staying, but if today is a sign of things to come, not sure what the point is. Freedom of speech is great. Hate speech intended to incite harm, (with no consequences) ain’t what I signed up for.
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) October 29, 2022
Musk is just days into the job but has already fired top execs, and changed its homepage for logged out users.
With the help of Tesla engineers he has brought into Twitter as advisors, he’s also planning mass layoffs aimed at middle managers and engineers who haven’t recently contributed to the code base.
Those cuts are expected to begin this week with managers already creating lists of employees to cut.
Kanye West’s Twitter account has also been restored on the site, although Musk denies having anything to do with this decision.
Related links:
- Elon Musk to introduce $20 a month charge for blue-check on Twitter
- Elon Musk says he has ‘no idea who the CEO’ of Twitter is after being sent a company auto-email
- Elon Musk says he had nothing to do with Kanye West’s Twitter account being reactivated
