Now that Twitter has officially removed legacy blue checkmarks for those that aren’t subscribed to Twitter Blue, celebrities have shared their amusing reactions after realising their Twitter accounts are no longer verified.
The legacy verified checkmarks began disappearing from Twitter on Thursday afternoon, after months of Elon Musk warning the app will do away with the blue ticks when he acquired the platform last year. Now those who wish to be verified with a blue checkmark must sign-up for Twitter Blue, a subscription-based service costing $8 per month.
This means that even the biggest names in movies, music and television found themselves unverified on Thursday too, except for celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Cardi B and Khloe Kardashian who subscribed to Twitter Blue in order to keep their verified status.
Perhaps one of the best reactions came from Oscar winner Halle Berry when she discovered she was no longer verified on Twitter. The Catwoman star joined in on the fun one day early, when the official account for Twitter Blue shared that the app will be removing the checks on 20 April.
“Tomorrow, 4/20, we are removing legacy verified checkmarks,” read the tweet from Twitter Blue, with instructions on how to subscribe. In response, Berry shared a throwback video of herself walking onto the set of a late-night talk show, smiling and waving to fans. She captioned her tweet: “Me joining you all tomorrow unverified”
On Thursday, Berry confirmed that her blue checkmark had gone by posting a very fitting meme. The photo, which featured the Cartoon Network character Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory, showed the character crying over what used to be Berry’s verified Twitter account.
Meanwhile, rapper Lil Nas X noticed his blue check had gone missing on Thursday too. “Me after I lose my blue check tomorrow,” he tweeted, along with a video of Squidward Tenticles from Spongebob Squarepants asking for spare change.
West Side Story star Rachel Zeigler said she was “free” after losing her verification status, while actor Ben Stiller wrote: “No blue check, still feel like me.”
Some of the biggest accounts on Twitter that lost their ticks included those of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, cricketer Virat Kohli and former US president Donald Trump, as well as the official Twitter page for the Pope.
Comedian Ricky Gervais let his 15.1 million followers know that his blue tick had gone.
“My blue tick has gone. I’m not sure if I’m really me or not,” he tweeted, alongside a zoomed in image of himself.
British comedian and presenter Richard Osman quote-tweeted the official post from Twitter Verified about the removal of the legacy verified checkmarks after losing his, writing: “Farewell blue tick, old friend. Don’t forget, always set your feed to ‘Following’ rather than ‘For You’.
“Then you’ll keep seeing the people you actually follow, and not people who’ve paid for attention.”
To add to the confusion, some legacy accounts seemed to retain their ticks if linked to a verified organisation, such as Barack Obama’s personal page. The former president maintained his verified status because he was associated with “The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama,” according to Twitter.
Twitter Verified Organisations enables bodies of “all types”, including businesses, non-profit groups and government institutions, to sign up and manage their verification and to affiliate and verify any related account.
As for politicians, US President Joe Biden went from a blue check to a grey check on Thursday because his account is a “government or multilateral organisation account”.
One of the most famous profiles with a blue tick because it is “subscribed to Twitter Blue” is Taylor Swift’s, which has 92.5 million followers.
However, some notable users who still have blue ticks have claimed that they have not paid for Twitter Blue but have still kept their tick, including author Stephen King.
“My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t,” he tweeted to his 7.1 million followers.
In response to King, a vocal critic of Musk, the Twitter CEO wrote: “You’re welcome namaste.”
Additional reporting from PA.
