Multiple celebrities and who's who of the world lost their Twitter blue tick on Thursday as the Elon Musk-owned micro-blogging website's annual subscription program came into effect. To be precise, Elon Musk's micro-blogging site Twitter on Thursday removed the legacy verified blue ticks from all accounts. Indian celebrities who became collateral damage to it included Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, whose film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan hits theatres today, April 21. However, there were netizens who took to their Twitter handle and complained that they have already paid for the blue tick but still, they lost their status. As a result, TwitterBlueTick turned out to be one of the most discussed topics on the micro-blogging website. While hundreds and thousands of people lost their Twitter blue tick, it was reported that Elon Musk is paying for three celebrities from his own pocket. Now, the arises who are those three celebrities for whom Elon Musk is paying himself? To know the answer continue reading-
After a report was shared that Elon Musk is personally paying for a few celebrities, the Twitter boss responded to it and clarified that there are only three people for whom he is paying. And they are Basketball Legend LeBron James, American Author Stephen King, and veteran Hollywood actor William Shatner. Notably, with the launch of Twitter Blue, only users who are subscribed to it will be able to have a blue checkmark in front of their names along with access to some brand-new features. However, basketball star LeBron James and author Stephen King still retained their checkmarks despite publicly announcing that they would not sign up for the service.
Just Shatner, LeBron and King
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2023
It is pertinent to mention here that Elon Musk personally paying report first surfaced when American author Stephen King took to the microblogging website and said, "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." Replying to the same, Mr Musk said, "You're welcome namaste" along with a folding hand emoji.
My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 20, 2023
My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.
You’re welcome namaste 🙏
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
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Other celebs who lost Twitter blue tick
Former US President Donald Trump, Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates and reality TV star Kim Kardashian were among those who lost their badges. Several Indian celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt and politicians like CM Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma among others have also lost their verified blue ticks from their Twitter accounts.
For the unaware, Twitter introduced the blue check mark system in 2009 to help users identify that celebrities, politicians, companies and brands, news organisations, and other accounts "of public interest" were genuine and not impostors or parody accounts. The company didn't previously charge for verification.