We have so much to thank Elon Musk for. Seriously. He provides so much light and laughter in our world, we owe him. After he bought Twitter, in late 2022 he warned the world that “verified” blue check marks would no longer be free. The verification of your account would cost $8.00 per month. That’s $96.00 a year. Not cheap, but not outrageous. Celebrities who have had their accounts verified for year are pounding their little fists and kicking their little feet and it is so extra that I have gotten my $96.00 worth in just two days. It’s not often that you get your money’s worth, but just the idea that there is a blue check mark next to my name (paid for) is so totally worth it for me.

The warnings about the blue check mark started last November and I wrote about it here:

Stars, politicians and wannabes all prize the blue check next to their name that verifies their accounts are real. They are not bots or spam accounts or pretenders. Elon Musk has got a huge job in front of him to turn Twitter around, make it profitable and make it a true town square. As the late Lucianne Goldberg used to say, “A salon not a saloon.” He has got to do something to make money. From NBC News:
Originally reported Sunday by The Verge, a plan to charge verified users to get or keep their blue checks was expected to cost $20 a month. But after widespread backlash on the platform and a poll tweeted by Musk ally Jason Calacanis, in which nearly 82% of users responded that they wouldn’t pay anything for verification, those plans appear to have changed.
By Tuesday afternoon, Musk had posted a thread on the platform outlining his plan to charge $8 a month instead — part of an overhaul of Twitter’s existing Blue service.
Along with the coveted blue check, Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to post longer video and audio clips. They will also have half as many ads in their feeds and be able to get around paywalls from news publishers “willing to work” with the platform, and their tweets will get priority in replies, mentions and search results.
Now, if I really wanted to be an influence on Twitter either $20 or $8 would be paltry sums to pay, in my humble opinion. So, it seems like it would be a good deal.
Congresscritter AOC was concerned about selling free speech on a subscription plan. I kid you not. – From her Twitter account:

“Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that “free speech” is actually a $8/mo subscription plan”

That poor child. Never paid for a newspaper? Never paid for cable, digital or streaming? Stupid girl.

Elon Musk gave them all fair warning. Then on 4/20, Elon’s favorite day of the year, he began removing the blue check marks from most accounts. He did allow a few celebrity “elites” to keep their verification without paying. From Newsweek:

However, Musk said he was “personally” footing the bill for some celebrities who have publicly expressed their unwillingness to subscribe, such as LeBron James and Stephen King, forcing them to retain their blue checks by receiving subscriptions against their wishes.

–snip–

The Verge reported on Thursday that James had been given a subscription despite rejecting an email to “extend a complimentary subscription to Twitter Blue for your account, @kingjames, on behalf of Elon Musk.”

King tweeted that he had neither paid for Twitter Blue nor provided a phone number, despite his account saying that he had, prompting Musk to reply, “You’re welcome namaste.”

Worth it. Then, former sitcom actress Alyssa Milano pounded her little fists, as written by Nick Arama of Red State:

“So by revoking my blue check mark because I wouldn’t pay some arbitrary fee, someone can just be me and say a bunch of bullshit,” Milano ranted. “Does that mean Twitter and @elonmusk are liable for defamation or identity theft or fraud?”
How typically liberal that she thinks that she should get something for nothing because she’s special and she shouldn’t have to pay.
She thinks that someone can now just be her and “say a bunch of bullshit.” Her whole account is a stream of nonsense so who would know the difference if someone did that? Who would want to be her anyway? But there are rules on Twitter against impersonation in any event.
What the heck is she even saying about Elon being liable for “defamation or identity theft or fraud” in her tweet?
Hilarious. No, Alyssa, a private company removing your blue check is none of the above.
She also limited her replies so she didn’t have to hear from people who might tell her things she didn’t like.
She was so upset that she added a blue diamond to her profile to make sure you understood she was special and said she wasn’t going to pay. But she wants people to subscribe to her podcast. That’s what she’s been reduced to, and she doesn’t see the irony there.

Alyssa wasn’t the only one having a pout because the blue check mark was gone and was going to cost money to retain. Eh, Charlie Sheen, I suspect, is having fun with this. I love explody rockets:

dear @elonmusk
i’m sorry your fancy rocket
exploded in spectacular fashion. I’m certain you’ll build an even bigger and more explody one.

now,
may i please have my
blue check back?
it would mean a lot to me.

thank you in advance,
sincerely – c sheen

— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) April 22, 2023

Self-important teleprompter readers lost their blue check marks:

No more blue check pic.twitter.com/Xdg2jc0F7k

— PresidentTrump4 (@Juan45T) April 22, 2023

And, like Matt Wallace Millionaire, I am enjoying the squirming of the “elites”. They are not being censored. They are free to speak their minds. They just aren’t marked as special:

While reading them all is fun. Bette Midler has been such an evil hag over the years her sadness was super-fun:

Here I am happy to pay Elon Musk and looking forward to the next TEST rocket launch. Love and kisses to all from me and my blue check mark.

Featured Image: Focal Foto/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons