9 Celebrities Quitting Twitter For Good After Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover
"The Bird is Freed," Elon Musk famously tweeted shortly after gaining control of Twitter in late October. While the debate over Twitter being truly free is debate worthy, there is no denying that the platform is undergoing rapid changes — at a pace the company has never experienced in the past. In the tumultuous week following Musk's acquisition, Twitter's organizational structure underwent massive changes. The week saw Elon fire almost all of Twitter's senior executives and board members before installing himself as the company's CEO. Musk also spent the better part of the week trying to set a "correct" price for paid Twitter Blue subscription service.
On Friday, November 4, 2022, several Twitter employees confirmed that a sizable number of Twitter staff were being let go. While Twitter was estimated to lay off almost 50% of its staff (via CNBC), neither Musk nor Twitter has confirmed the actual number of employees affected by this development. In some countries, like India for example, Twitter has reportedly decided to part ways with almost its entire workforce (via The Hindu).
Before the layoffs became public, Musk was also involved in a war of words with a handful of celebrities — including politician Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and famous author Stephen King. While many of these celebrities engaged with the new Twitter CEO, a handful of stars were so miffed with the latest developments that they decided to abandon the platform completely. In this article, we list the celebrities who decided to bid goodbye to Twitter after Musk took over.
Celebs who left Twitter after Elon Musk took over
Among the first celebrities to quit Twitter following Musk's Twitter takeover was Marina Sirtis, the British actor famous for her role as Deanna Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Before deactivating her account, Sirtis sent out a tweet saying she could not be part of anything owned by Musk "and his cabal of deplorables." She deleted her account shortly after that.
Mick Foley, who had expressed his intention to quit Twitter in April 2022 if Musk took over the company, did exactly that. Shortly after it was confirmed that Musk would take over the microblogging platform, Mick Foley deleted his presence from Twitter and confirmed the development via a Facebook post. Foley had earlier said he didn't have a good feeling about where Twitter was heading.
Amber Heard, who was in a relationship with Elon Musk in the past, also appears to have left the platform. Her account @realamberheard is no longer active on the platform and seems to have been deleted. Amber Heard's Twitter reign lasted less than five years since she joined the platform in 2017. "Deep Impact" and "Jurassic Park III" actress Tea Leoni also quit the platform — shortly after sending out a tweet that said she was "coming off Twitter."
Celebs who are staying off Twitter without deleting their accounts
Singer Toni Braxton also announced her departure from Twitter shortly after Musk took over Twitter. Braxton, however, didn't delete her Twitter account and only said that she is "choosing to stay off" the platform. Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy, also quit Twitter — announcing her decision with a tweet. Like Braxton, she chose not to delete her account completely. Another celebrity who announced his departure from Twitter — but did not delete his account — is actor and director/producer Ken Olin.
Besides Leoni, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Sara Bareilles, also took to Twitter saying she is quitting the platform while adding that "this one's just not for me." Actor and filmmaker Alex Winter locked his Twitter account following Musk's acquisition and changed his bio to read "Not here." After learning about the layoffs at Twitter, he returned to the platform to post a farewell message to all Twitter staff fired.
As Elon Musk consolidates his hold over Twitter, the coming weeks could see several new developments. Besides the handful of celebrities that have abandoned the platform, a sizable number of brands have also suspended their ads on Twitter following Musk's takeover.