Actor William Shatner, best known for playing Captain Kirk on “Star Trek,” is not a fan of Elon Musk's changes to Twitter.
What Happened: Ever since Musk acquired the social media platform for $44 billion in 2022, he's ruffled some feathers on the Bird App with the changes he's made.
One of those changes will take place on April 1 when Twitter removes blue checkmarks from user accounts under the legacy verified checkmarks program. The program saw famous figures, companies and members of the media get free blue checks. In order to be verified, users will now have to enter the Twitter Blue subscription program, which comes with a monthly cost of $8 to $11, depending on which platform the app is used on.
Shatner, it seems, has taken issue with these plans.
“Hey @elonmusk what’s this about blue checks going away unless we pay Twitter? I’ve been here for 15 years giving my (time) & witty thoughts all for bupkis. Now you’re telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free? What is this – the Colombia Records & Tape Club?” Shatner tweeted.
Musk responded to Shatner on Twitter.
“It’s more about treating everyone equally. There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities imo,” Musk replied.
Why It’s Important: Shatner isn't the only big name calling out Musk. Writer Stephen King told Musk in 2022 that he shouldn’t have to pay to use Twitter and instead maybe should be paid by the social media platform for his time.
Musk told King at that time that the move to blue checks being paid was being done to help pay the bills, differing from Musk’s current reasoning, as pointed out by Variety.
Indeed, Shatner and King earn enough money to pay the $8 to $11 per month fee. Still, several people, including Ethereum and Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson, offered to pay the monthly subscription for Twitter Blue for Shatner in the post made by Musk.
The callout to Musk by Shatner is a sharp turn from the actor’s previous praise of the entrepreneur and Twitter CEO and owner.
“BTW, since it seems to be the latest ‘thing’ on here. I’m stating that I’m staying on Twitter, Besides I think @elonmusk is adorbs. Also, full disclosure: I’m trying to pitch Elon to hire me as face of Twitter,” Shatner tweeted last year.
“You will always be my captain,” Musk replied at the time.
Shatner, who recently celebrated his 92nd birthday, is not the only one to complain about the new Twitter Blue subscription rollout.
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared her concerns about the legacy blue checkmarks going away.
“Last time they tried this someone pretended to be Eli Lilly and tanked their stock price by pretending insulin was free,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
Shatner called space the final frontier in each episode of “Star Trek,” but it will be legacy blue checkmarks having their final frontier up until March 31. Time will tell if Shatner and others stick around on the platform.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org and Gage Skidmore on flickr
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