No, 鈥� that was put into the world by purporting to belong to the Los Angeles Lakers superstar when a pay-$8-and-pretend-to-be-anyone verification system made a brief appearance.
And no, actor Edward Norton is not all that worried about the under .
鈥淚f a lot of that stuff went away,鈥� Norton said, 鈥淚 think we鈥檇 be the better for it.鈥�
In a similar vein, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP with 4.5 million followers, said: 鈥淚 look forward to the day I have no social media, which may be coming sooner rather than later.鈥�
Yes, athletes and celebrities from the entertainment world are just like us: They鈥檙e monitoring the chaos and uncertainty surrounding Twitter since its new owner came aboard. They鈥檙e not necessarily sure how to proceed 鈥� and not necessarily sure the microblogging bird app鈥檚 disappearance would be the sky-is-falling disaster some are making it out to be.
鈥淚 just look at it like, you know, Twitter is, was and will always be a dumpster fire,鈥� said actor Ryan Reynolds, surely echoing the sentiments of many, famous or otherwise.
鈥淏ut who knows? We鈥檝e got to play it by ear. I mean, we鈥檒l see where it all goes,鈥� said Reynolds, who has 20 million followers. 鈥淚 was around when MySpace and Friendster were a thing and 鈥� it feels like Twitter and TikTok are everything right now. But these things, they all come and go, like anything in life.鈥�
Launched in 2006, Twitter created a space where the well-known could circumvent traditional media and communicate directly with fans to push messages or products while, in turn, increasing the site鈥檚 popularity among the hoi polloi. There are now more than 230 million users.
Questions about Twitter鈥檚 future arose the moment Musk completed his $44 billion takeover in late October. He got rid of half of the full-time staff, prompted hundreds of engineers and others and now is expected to eliminate jobs related to content moderation.
Concerns about fraudulent accounts and misinformation ( ) are not new.
But they鈥檙e amplified lately.
鈥淚t鈥檚 scary right now,鈥� said Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who has more than 85,000 followers. He said he gets 鈥渢he majority of my news鈥� via Twitter and uses it to connect with friends, interact with fans and promote companies.
He likened the current state of the site to 鈥淲ikipedia when I was growing up: You always have to fact-check, because it wasn鈥檛 always correct.鈥�
Timelines have been littered with posts telling people to find accounts on Instagram or Mastodon or whatever other spot might become a go-to if 鈥� when? 鈥� Twitter isn鈥檛 an option.
鈥淚f you want to get your voice out there, there鈥檚 other ways,鈥� said Charles Leno Jr., a Washington Commanders offensive lineman with more than 25,000 followers. 鈥淭his may sound bad, because I feel everybody should have a voice, but it鈥檚 not true in terms of Twitter: It鈥檚 given voice to the voiceless 鈥� people who shouldn鈥檛 say anything. You don鈥檛 need to be talking about somebody else鈥檚 job, their relationship, their business. Support them or just shut up. There are positives about Twitter; we just need more focus on that aspect, so it can be a more engaging place.鈥�
Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, whose followers number nearly 8 million, sees both sides, too. He explained how the app can 鈥減ollute your mind鈥� but also praised it as 鈥渁 really powerful tool to connect with people.鈥�
Ian Poulter, a pro golfer with 2.2 million followers, would love to see Twitter evolve into 鈥渁 forum to have open discussion without there being some form of bullying and bad-mouthing and bots.鈥�
Indeed, for 鈥� though certainly not limited to 鈥� many public figures.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot. I鈥檓 not really sure what you can do,鈥� said Jessica Pegula, a pro tennis player ranked No. 3 in the world. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to be on social media, you have to deal with it to some extent.鈥�
Some in entertainment bid adieu.
Shonda Rhimes, creator of TV hits 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy,鈥� 鈥淪candal鈥� and 鈥淗ow to Get Away With Murder,鈥� actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson of 鈥淢odern Family鈥� fame and singer Sara Bareilles are just a few of the folks who said they鈥檙e done with Twitter 鈥� and did so, of course, via Twitter.
Those who advise entertainers and athletes 鈥� and, in some cases, tweet for them 鈥� don鈥檛 know how to proceed, even though they鈥檝e long had a direct line to Twitter employees to resolve issues.
鈥淓verybody who鈥檚 a Twitter user is doing their best to ride the wave,鈥� said George Atallah, assistant executive director for external affairs at the NFL Players鈥� Association, one of several sports unions in touch with each other about this. 鈥淓verybody 鈥� agents, governing bodies, athletes, marketing reps, unions 鈥� is all in the same boat, adjusting based on the whims of the new owner.鈥�
Jennie Smythe, founder of Girlilla Marketing, a digital marketing firm in Nashville, Tennessee, said changes to the verification process caused problems for entertainment clients, including country star Darius Rucker, who abruptly lost his blue check without warning. She said many of her clients, including musicians, actors and non-profits, are constantly dealing with imposters.
鈥淚t is not a vanity play,鈥� Smythe said. 鈥淚t is more as a protection measure for followers.鈥�
Drew Rosenhaus, an agent whose firm represents about 100 active NFL players, said he longs for the days 鈥渨hen you could just look at the blue mark and know it was real.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e living in a new world on Twitter. It鈥檚 going to require a little more due diligence,鈥� Rosenhaus said, adding that he doesn鈥檛 expect 鈥渁 mass exodus鈥� of his clients from the app, because 鈥渢here鈥檚 a lot of value from it.鈥�
Benito Perez-Barbadillo, a publicist whose clients include Rafael Nadal, likes that the 22-time Grand Slam champion easily can reach his 15 million followers 鈥� for now.
鈥淲e have our verified account. If that鈥檚 taken away from us, we might consider not using Twitter anymore. I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Perez-Barbadillo said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e not going to be official anymore, we might just say, 鈥榃ell, goodbye, Twitter.鈥欌��
鈥擧oward Fendrich And Kristin M. Hall, The Associated Press
