It has been almost three weeks since comics legend Stan Lee declared that he, himself, was tweeting for the first time — and today all tweets made prior to that declaration were scrubbed from the account.
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Lee’s account also unfollowed all but 28 people on Twitter.
Sources tell ComicBook.com that this is the doing of Lee’s current handler, Keya Morgan, who is among the 28 still followed by the Lee account. Nearly all of the accounts followed by Lee are major geek-sphere celebrities, with a few exceptions — including a makeup artist named Christine Griggs whose bio reads “I stand with Keya Morgan forever” and another user who calls himself “BeRealBro,” with a little over 100 followers — but counted in those numbers is Morgan.
Notable unfollows include many of the celebrities who were outspoken in worrying about Smith after a series of recent public appearances concerned fans and friends.
Lee has taken to social media to express gratitude for people’s concerns, but has also tried to downplay fears about his physical and mental well-being, and has implied that he might sue individuals and news outlets who suggest he is a victim of elder abuse.
Since the death of his wife in 2017, Lee’s personal life has seemingly fallen into disarray. On more than one occasion, someone has stolen from Lee’s home or embezzled money from his personal accounts. In-fighting among his inner circle led to the firing of his longtime road manager Max Anderson.
Reports have been circulating for some time that Lee’s inner circle is working to more tightly control not only his public appearances and public statements, but the narrative around Lee’s well-being as well.
Lee was also accused of sexually harassing members of his private nursing staff, charges that Lee’s camp have strenuously denied.
On top of it all, Lee is currently suing POW Entertainment, a company with which he has been doing business since 2001; and his former business manager Jerry Olivarez, who was allegedly the brains behind a scheme that infused printer’s ink with some of Lee’s blood for a controversial limited-run Black Panther comic released to coincide with the launch of the movie. Earlier this week, he tweeted support for Elon Musk’s controversial “fake news accountability” push.
