Celebrity
Amber Heard Deletes Her Twitter Account After Ex-Boyfriend Elon Musk Takes Ownership
Musk has announced a series of changes on the platform, including being charged $8 for a blue-tick verification badge.
A search for @realAmberHeard on Twitter is showing that Amber Heard has deactivated her account. It comes within days after her ex-BF Elon Musk, whom she dated in 2016 acquired the platform for $44billion. It’s not clear why the actress shut down the account, but users speculate she might want a break from the backlash over her defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
A few wondered if having Musk as head of her social media account gave her the thought of quitting but so far, a string of celebs have been pushing back against Musk’s takeover.
As the Tesla founder emerged as CEO following a back and forth with Twitter’s board, Shonda Rhimes – Writer of Grey’s Anatomy tweeted she would be stepping away from the platform. Celebrities, including singer Toni Braxton, took to Twitter to protest upcoming changes of users being charged $8 for a blue-tick verification badge, a price Musk had revised down from $20.
Horror writer Stephen King also claimed he would leave the platform if the charges are introduced.
“They should pay me,” the writer said, echoing sentiments shared by celebs taking against Musk’s changes. Actor Mia Farrows, Madam Secretary star Tea Leoni, Jameela Jamil alongside activists Amy Siskind and Shaun King have equally threatened to boycott the platform. Musk has, however, continued to pitch his idea for the blue check fee, claiming it will end the current lords and peasant’s system.
Bloomberg reported that the badges could go live as soon as Monday, with current blue check holders receiving a grace period of months before being forced to either pay or lose it.
Additionally, Musk by the end of this week plans to eliminate over 3000 employees and end Twitter’s work-from-anywhere policy to drive down costs. The billionaire had initially said he would eliminate as many as 75% of the company’s workers before telling employees last week and some reports suggest it would be 25 percent.
Musk and Heard had gone public with their relationship a year later after dating in secret.
In February 2018, reports emerged the pair had split and they addressed it at the time, saying: “We would like to speak for ourselves. The distance has been really tough on our relationship because we haven’t been able to see each other much. All relationships have their ups and downs, of course.”
