A host of celebrities have vowed to quit Twitter now Elon Musk has bought the social media platform.
The world’s richest man bought the network for a whopping £34.5 billion last week and promised users ‘free speech’.
The Tesla CEO, who has over 112 million followers, tweeted back in April before the sale went through: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”
Now he is officially in charge at Twitter HQ, he teased: “The bird is freed.”
But not everyone is happy about the takeover – including some high profile celebrities, who have threatened to quit the social media platform for good.
Here are all the famous faces who say they will no longer tweet now Musk is at the helm.
Jameela Jamil
When Musk announced he was buying Twitter earlier this year, Jameela Jamil was one of the first celebs to say she was leaving.
At the time she wrote: “Ah he got Twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet.
“Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold,” she wrote, adding a series of photos of the dog she shares with her musician boyfriend James Blake.
“I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck.”
Despite this, The Good Life star still has a Twitter account with 1 million followers, but hasn’t been active since October 26 – a day before Musk took over.
Mia Farrow
Actress Mia Farrow also threatened to leave Twitter back in April after fears the platform would become “toxic” and “hateful” following Musk’s takeover.
In a since-deleted tweet, The Watcher star said: “Well if Twitter becomes even more toxic – with Trumpy-treasonous lies & all the hatred – it will be taken less seriously, and people like me will quit for peace of mind.”
Addressing Musk directly, she tweeted: “Keep Twitter worthy of your previous achievements and of lawful people everywhere.”
As it stands, the 77-year-old has kept her Twitter account and is still regularly active.
Last week she told her 474,000 followers her fears had come true, saying: “Minutes after Elon Musk became Twitter’s owner, the platform was filled with profanity and a torrent of racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobia, homophobic and transphobic hate speech.”
Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton has said she is “shocked and appalled” at what she has seen on Twitter since Musk took over.
The Un-Break My Heart singer claimed the platform was “no longer a safe space” for her family and people of colour.
In a tweet on October 29, the 55-year-old wrote: “I’m shocked and appalled at some of the “free speech” I’ve seen on this platform since its acquisition.
“Hate speech under the veil of “free speech” is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC.”
Although she has remained silent on the social media app since, she has yet to delete her account, which has 1.8 million followers.
Josh Gad
Actor Josh Gad, who is most famous for voicing the snowman Olaf in the Frozen films, said he was “not sure” whether to stay or go.
Voicing his concerns with his 673,000 followers, the 41-year-old said: “Large exodus happening on this platform. Not sure if I stay or not.
“Leaning towards staying, but if today is a sign of things to come, not sure what the point is.”
He added: “Freedom of speech is great. Hate speech intended to incite harm (with no consequences) ain’t what I signed up for.”
Alex Winter
The only celeb to have actually deleted their Twitter account is Bill and Ted star Alex Winter.
The actor, who played Bill in the film alongside sidekick Keanu Reeves, appears to have quit the platform for good.
A link to his previous account now says: ‘This account doesn’t exist’.
Explaining himself in an email, he said: “Elon Musk taking over Twitter and making it a private company with less oversight has immediately made the platform more prone to hate speech, targeted attacks and the spread of disinformation."
“If Twitter returns to being a public company run by rational actors, many of us will return,” he added.
George Takei
Star Trek star George Takei has 3.4 million followers and can often be found tweeting several times a day.
He has called Musk “incredibly irresponsible” for retweeting a conspiracy theory about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul.
But even if he doesn’t agree with some of the things Musk does, the 85-year-old actor said he is “going nowhere”.
When news of Musk buying Twitter was announced, Takei said: “Should this place become more toxic. I pledge to strive even harder to lift up reason, science, compassion and the rule of law.”
He added: “The struggle against fascism, misinformation and hate requires tough fighters. I hope you stay in the fight, right beside me.”
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