Entertainment
Stephen King fires back at Elon Musk over apparent blue tick fee-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro
The change has angered many Twitter users.
The master of horror has hit back at Twitter’s new owner (Pictures by: Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images / Lou Rocco / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Following reports that verified Twitter users could now have to pay for their coveted blue tick following Elon Musk’s takeover, many aren’t happy, including Stephen King.
Tesla owner Musk’s £38billion takeover of Twitter is set to bring in some changes, with rumours the Blue Tick may become a paid feature with a £20 a month charge for users – such as celebrities, journalists, and public figures – to retain their verified status.
It has been reported that these new features could launch as early as November 7.
Comedian Kathy Burke branded the new billionaire owner a ‘cheeky b***h’ in an expletive-laden rant on the social media site, saying he should be paying her and not the other way around.
Horror author King, who is behind iconic works including The Shining, Carrie, It and Misery, has also lashed out at the proposed change.
‘$20 a month to keep my blue check? F**k that, they should pay me,’ he tweeted.
The Tesla billionaire has faced backlash for the proposed change (Picture: Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)
‘If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.’
Musk later tweeted directly in response to the author to try and explain the controversial change.
‘We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?’ he wrote.
He then further commented that he would explain the charge in more detail at a later date and described it as ‘the only way to beat bots and trolls’.
King replied to Musk, saying ‘It ain’t the money, it’s the principal of the thing.’
King is among the legions of Twitter users opposing the possible charge (Picture: John Lamparski / WireImage)
The world’s richest man has already fired Twitter’s CEO, as well as a few other senior executives, within days of taking ownership.
On Sunday (October 30), Musk said in a tweet that Twitter was revising its user verification process.
The CEO of Tesla has not made a final decision and the project could still be scrapped but it is likely that verification will become a part of Twitter Blue.
Twitter Blue was launched in June last year as the platform’s first subscription service, which offers ‘exclusive access to premium features’ on a monthly subscription basis including an option to edit tweets.
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