April 20th wasn’t just weed day. It was also when Elon Musk nuked every blue check mark on Twitter that wasn’t subscribed to his poorly received service. Celebrities, by and large, haven’t been willing to pony up, perhaps not wishing to be associated with the likes of Catturd. But some (though definitely not all) have had the now-dreaded blue check mark foisted upon them anyway, whether they like it or not. (And Stephen King and Ice T aren’t the only one who doesn’t like it.) Oddly, even late celebrities are now listed as subscribed, having evidently “verified their phone number” from beyond the grave.
As per Insider, a number of figures who are no longer with us bear the dreaded blue mark. These include such late luminaries as Kobe Bryant, Norm Macdonald, Anthony Bourdain, Chadwick Boseman, and Michael Jackson. Clicking on their accounts, one not only sees the no longer coveted blue check mark, but also the words, “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”
They’re spooky words to read on accounts for the deceased, implying they somehow went through the same rigamarole as Twitter Blue subscriber Kyle Rittenhouse. For one thing,, unlike still-living celebrities, they can’t angrily tweet about how they never signed up for this, as many have. Newish Twitter honcho Elon Musk has basically been tweeting through it, dropping sh*tposts when people address what has become known as the “#BlockTheBlue” movement, in which users (but not subscribers) promote blocking anyone who’s paying Musk money to use his otherwise free service.
A troll, me??
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2023
(Via Insider)