Here's the Latest List of Celebrities Elon Musk Has Scared Off of Twitter
The exodus of left-wing celebrities continues on Twitter, as the nation’s high-profile performers appear woefully trapped in the delusion that where they chose to vent their personal opinions about politics is of the remotest consequence to us plebs and laypeople.
Shonda Rhimes, Gigi Hadid and Amber Heard top the list of names of those caught up in the mass exit — by virtue of the fact that I’m vaguely aware of who they are and what they’re known for — with Whoopi Goldberg and Toni Braxton serving as perhaps the most well-known of the grumpy brunch.
These moderately big names are joined by a host of B- to D-listers ranging from actors to writers to stage performers, all of whom appear to have an inflated sense of their importance on the platform, and roughly none of whom I’ve ever heard of before (except for rocker Jack White, whose current cultural relevance I nonetheless seriously doubt).
The tech tantrums, of course, have been caused by the acquisition of Twitter on the part of billionaire and provocateur Elon Musk, who recently allowed users of his new asset to determine, via Twitter poll, if former President Donald Trump should be allowed back on the platform after his account was permanently suspended in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
Trump has yet to tweet on the platform as he remains committed to his alternative social media site, Truth Social, but the mere restoration of his notorious account has apparently been too much to handle for many leftist, including the rich and (slightly) famous.
Business Insider recently rounded up the latest list, topped in its estimation by Rhimes and including singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, producer Ken Olin, actress Téa Leoni (oh, I remember her!), showrunner Brian Koppelman, and former pro-wrestler Mick Foley.
Many tweeted out their plans to exit on accounts that appear fully active — smart, since simply leaving the platform without saying anything would hardly make for good virtue-signaling:
Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 29, 2022
Welp. It’s been fun Twitter. I’m out. See you on other platforms, peeps. Sorry, this one’s just not for me. ❤️🙏🏼
— Sara Bareilles (@SaraBareilles) October 30, 2022
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.
💙— Ken Olin (@kenolin1) October 28, 2022
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.
— Toni Braxton (@tonibraxton) October 29, 2022
To my friends on Twitter, I will be taking a step back from the platform for now.
Connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram to stay informed and hear my latest personal and professional updates.
— Sully Sullenberger (@Captsully) November 9, 2022
To be fair, there were some celebrities who actually left Twitter — according to Business Insider: Jack White shared an open letter to Elon Musk on Instagram, still safely owned by the progressive technocrats over at Meta. Amber Heard, who briefly dated Musk, deleted her account, and Gigi Hadid made sure to let her Instagram followers know she’d deactivated hers.
Koppelman demurely moved his account to private (take that, free speech absolutists!), and “The Amazing Spider-Man” comic creator Erik Larsen deleted his account after sharing in April that this was the course he would take if Musk completed his deal to purchase Twitter.
Singer Liz Phair and actors David Dastmalchian and Jenny Slate deactivated their accounts, too.
And … life goes on.
There’s plenty to say about whether or not Musk’s takeover of Twitter will produce any fruit and what a future with an activated @RealDonaldTrump will hold for America and the world, but one thing’s certain: Pretty much nothing changed by these celebrities leaving the platform in a huff.
Because you see, that’s the thing about free speech: You’re free to stop listening if you don’t want to hear it. Liberty isn’t compulsion, and if you see things you find offensive, you are free to just keep scrolling, or even do yourself (and probably many others) a favor and just get off these time-sucking, culture-dividing platforms that are a royal waste of time and give us an inflated sense of self-importance.
I hope these celebrities enjoy their downtime and find that it’s much easier to just move on with your life than waste time worrying about whether or not a politician they don’t like has the opportunity to publicly air his personal views.
After all, there’s one way they might actually be able to make a real difference in this messy world.
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