Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Causes Celebrities To Bow Out From App

A few celebrities have announced their departure from Twitter following its acquirement by Elon Musk. Toni Braxton, Shonda Rhimes and more have declared that due to the many changes coming to the app, they will be leaving the social media platform for good.

“Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye,” Tweeted out Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal creator Rhimes on Saturday.

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Seven-time Grammy winner Toni Braxton, expressed: “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.”

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO announced on Thursday (Oct. 27) that he had officially purchased the 16-year-old social platform for $44 billion dollars. Upon his purchase, Musk started checking things off his to-do list, including ousting top executives from Twitter including Vijaya Gadde, head of trust and safety. He also announced that he’d be charging users $8 dollars a month to have a “blue check” verification. The straw for most was his announcement that Twitter would allow uncensored “free speech,” which could encourage misinformation or hate speech. Musk has unapologetically declared himself a “free speech absolutist.”

“The danger here is that in the name of ‘free speech,’ Musk will turn back the clock and make Twitter into a more potent engine of hatred, divisiveness, and misinformation about elections, public health policy, and international affairs,” said Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.

The world’s richest man said in a statement to Twitter advertisers on Sunday (Oct. 30) that Twitter “obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape.” He also described his reasoning for acquiring the platform as wanting to create, “a common digital town square where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.”

Twitter has made no announcements of any immediate policy changes as of publication. Musk has replaced his Twitter biography with “Chief Twit” and made his location “Twitter HQ.” On Friday (Oct. 28), Musk said Twitter will be forming a “content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” and “no major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”

Related Story

Ice Cube Has A Special Request Following Elon Musk's Acquisition Of Twitter

Back in April, the 51-year-old stated: “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

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