Stephen King says he's not leaving Twitter: 'They don't get to scare me away'
It will take more than Trump supporters and ticked-off critics to frighten Stephen King away from Twitter.
The best-selling author insists that he has no plans to leave the social media site despite the way it has changed under the ownership of Elon Musk.
"Yeah, it's gotten very strange," King said in a new interview with Slate. "You know, there are a lot of people that I don't follow who are now part of my Twitter feed. I don't mind. I don't block them. I think I want to know what they're doing. But, you know, I get lots of tweets every day. Every day I get tweets from Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebert, a number of different people who are just sort of like all-in on Trump to the extent that it's actually sort of amusing."
Asked if he will stay on Twitter, King replied, "The thing is, if everybody who doesn't approve of the way things are going, if we all leave, then it's just like walking off the field. No, I can't see myself leaving Twitter... They don't get to scare me away and to cheer and say, 'Well, we got rid of Stephen King from Twitter.' So, yeah, I'm going to stay."
Scott Eisen/Getty Images Stephen King
King also addressed his recent Twitter exchange with Musk regarding the blue check mark he received signaling his credibility, which the author discovered he still possessed last week despite declining to sign on for the Twitter Blue program and pay $8 a month for verification.
On April 20, he tweeted, "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." Musk responded to the tweet, saying, "You're welcome, namaste." The Twitter owner later claimed he was personally paying for William Shatner, LeBron James, and King to keep their check marks.
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.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 20, 2023
"Well, I don't really understand it," King said in the Slate interview. "I mean, Elon Musk, after I said that, he tweeted back. And I thought to myself, 'This is really kind of weird.' He gifted me this thing, but it said on the original blue check I'd actually approved of it, or I had paid for it or given a phone number. And none of that stuff was true."
The novelist also made it clear that he would not consider paying for Twitter Blue.
"No," said King. "The thing is, I do Twitter mostly for fun. I post pictures of my dog. I rail against Trump — not that anybody pays attention... But the thing is, you know, not to brag or anything, but I get paid to write. I don't have to pay to do it. And this whole thing has just sort of devolved into something that's kind of a head-scratcher."
In October of last year, King tweeted that he wouldn't shell out the $20 that Musk said Twitter users might have to pay to keep their blue check marks.
"$20 a month to keep my blue check?" he wrote. "F--- that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron."
$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
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