LeBron James Says He Turned Down Offer for Free Twitter Blue, But Elon Musk Is Paying For It
There has been a lot of backlash on Twitter due to CEO Elon Musk's decision to charge users for a blue verified badge over the past few months, and it has yet to stop. Musk's decision initially let users who already had a verified badge keep it for free, but then he decided to charge everyone with a blue checkmark, including celebrities. Some celebrities have spoken out on the platform, revealing that they wouldn't be paying for something that they were given for free. Among those celebs were ICE T, William Shatner, Stephen King, and NBA superstar LeBron James. James was one of the celebrities that Musk decided to gift Twitter Blue for free, but the basketball player declined the offer. Today, the social media site began removing verified badges from those who chose not to pay for the Twitter Blue subscription. Fans were quick to notice that James, and the other celebs listed above, still had their blue checkmarks even though they all declined Musk's offer.
"News: Have confirmed that LeBron, who has 52 million followers and has said he won't pay for verification, was emailed by a Twitter employee with the offer to have his sub comped 'on behalf of Elon Musk.'" Heath wrote on Twitter. "James did not accept but his account is showing that he paid anyway."
NEW: Have confirmed that LeBron, who has 52 million followers and has said he won’t pay for verification, was emailed by a Twitter employee with the offer to have his sub comped “on behalf of Elon Musk.”
— Alex Heath (@alexeheath) April 20, 2023
James did not accept but his account is showing that he paid anyway.
Why Some Celebrities Still Have Blue Check Marks On Twitter, Explained
At the time of writing this, we can confirm that Stephen King, LeBron James, William Shatner, and ICE T all still have their "verified" blue checkmarks on Twitter.
If you don't understand the implications here: all four of the celebs mentioned above spoke out against Twitter and its new paid-verification system; ergo, it seems that Elon Musk and/or Twitter's gatekeepers are keeping blue checkmarks on the accounts of those same dissidents as a trolling way of discrediting them. The logic of the trolling is that people will see egotistical hypocrite celebrities who spoke out, but then refused to lose their blue checkmark clout by turning around and paying for one.
While this all may be played off like a joke later, it's actually kind of disturbing – the sort of thing an espionage agency or rogue government would do as a smear campaign. But, with Twitter now controlled by one man's interests above all others, no strange twist should be too surprising anymore...
Musk snatched blue checkmarks away from thousands of Twitter accounts today, even as debate about this new system of "verification" on Twitter continues to rage as it is rolled out (again). On the one hand, there are some who think that Musk stated goal of a more egalitarian social media platform is a noble one. On the other hand, there are those who think distinguishing the profiles of celebrities that other famous or official figures from the noise of standard Twitter accounts was a very necessary feature. Then, there are those who say Musk and Twitter should be paying a premium to celebrities, to keep them active on Twitter.
What do you think about the Twitter blue situation? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!