Since Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, users have been complaining about the changes the CEO has made. In the beginning, he added a “For You” page to users’ timelines and reinstated controversial accounts like Donald Trump’s. His account was initially banned from the app after the January 6th insurrection.

After several months on job, Musk rolled out Twitter Blue. It functions as a subscription service that gives users access to longer tweets, boosted visibility and the almighty blue check. At the time, there was discourse on Twitter about paying for a blue check. While many were against it, others felt that its time to remove the veil of exclusivity on social media. Still, even with Twitter Blue, accounts that were verified prior to its launch had a legacy checkmark. These badges came in gold and silver. They were a way to distinguish who was previously deemed as a person of interest and who paid for it.

Now, Musk is changing it all once more.

Twitter’s Blue Check Saga Ends

As of April 20th, whoever has not subscribed to Twitter Blue, legacy or not, has lost their verified badges. There have been a surprising amount of celebrities who have taken a stand against Musk’s new Twitter rules. Celebrities, journalists and public figures have made it clear that they have worked hard for their checks and refuse to pay for them.

Several Black women celebrities lost their checks on the April 20. Beyonce, Halle Berry, Ciara and Oprah Winfrey are among those who lost their checks. Ciara tweeted, “Blue check or no check…I know my fans still checkin.” Her response to the loss of verification had a more serious tone than Halle Berry’s. The Academy Award winning actress made light of the situation. She posted an old video clip of herself walking out as a guest on a late night television show. In the clip you see her waving to the audience. Berry’s tweet read, “Me joining you all tomorrow unverified.”

A few, like Rihanna still have their checks. When you click on a checkmark, you will see a message that says “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.” Its unclear if the celebrity accounts that still have checks have actually paid or not, since Elon Musk has admitted to paying for a few subscriptions on his own.

twitter , twitter blue