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Elon Musk’s new Twitter bio names him as the platform’s “Complaint Hotline Operator”. And, poor guy, the phone must be ringing off the hook.
The world’s richest person has faced a torrent of criticism, and worse, since taking over the social media site on 27 October, and now his leadership is sending big names fleeing the blue bird-masted ship.
On Tuesday, Stephen Fry became the latest celebrity to make a grand exit by posting a picture of Scrabble letters spelling out “Goodbye” to his 12.5 million followers.
He moved on quickly to rival network Mastodon, which has seen a surge in new users since the Tesla boss's Twitter takeover. Fry has already posted his first message, or “toot”, quoting Jeeves and Wooster because... you know, he's Stephen Fry.
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Where he and his boardgame tiles have gone, others will follow, but here’s a look at who’s already bid Twitter a less-than-fond farewell.
Whoopi Goldberg
The Sister Act legend quit the platform on Monday, telling viewers of her TV show The View: “It’s been a little over a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter and this place is a mess. I’m getting off today . . . I’m tired of now having certain kinds of attitudes blocked now getting back on.”
She blamed Musk's banning of the comedian Kathy Griffin, and his mass cull of Twitter staff, for her decision.
Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid announced her departure via a brutal Instagram post on Friday.
In the message to her 76.2 million followers, the 27-year-old supermodel wrote: “For a long time, but especially with its new leadership it’s becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate & bigotry, and its [sic] not a place I want to be a part of.”
Jameela Jamil
The Good Place actor has apparently made her mind up at last after quitting the platform back in April then re-joining, before leaving again last week.
Confirming her departure in a tweet seen by The Independent, she wrote: "One good thing about Elon buying twitter is that I will *FINALLY* leave and stop being a complete menace to society on here. So it’s win win for you all really.”
Toni Braxton
Here's what the R&B icon had to say:
Shonda Rhimes
The Grey's Anatomy writer and producer didn't need Twitter's allotted 280 characters to get across what she wanted to say:
Sara Bareilles
Nor did the Grammy award-winning singer Sara Bareilles:
Téa Leoni
The Madam Secretary actor was more poetic in her goodbye note, writing in a now-unavailable tweet (because her account's been deleted): "Hi everyone. I’m coming off Twitter today—let’s see where we are when the dust settles.
"Today the dust has revealed too much hate, too much in the wrong direction," Leoni added. "Love, kindness, and possibilities for all of you."
Brian Koppelman
The Billions co-creator declared his departure with: "Y’all’s, for real, come find me over on instagram and the tok. Gonna really try to take a breather from here for a minute or a month come deal close time."
The screenwriter has now locked his Twitter account so only his approved followers have access to his tweets.
Erik Larsen
The comic book artist, who is best known for his work on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man, reportedly tweeted in April that "the day Elon Musk buys Twitter is the day I delete my account and leave Twitter."
And, sure enough, he's been true to his word and his account is now deleted.
Mick Foley
The retired wrestler and actor used Facebook to confirm his need for a "break", writing: "I decided I needed a [Twitter] break, since the new ownership - and the misinformation and hate it seems to be encouraging - has my stomach in a knot.
"I really do enjoy connecting with all of you on social media, but it can get overwhelming sometimes. I think I’ll be back on in a few weeks, but in the meantime, I will continue to post on Facebook and Instagram. I hope all of you will be kind to one another."
Alex Winter
The actor who played Bill alongside Keanu Reeves in the classic movie series Bill & Ted locked his account sometime after Musk's acquisition, NBCreports. His bio now reads: "Left for here," followed by a link to his profile on rival site Mastodon.
"Elon Musk taking over Twitter and making it a private company with less oversight has immediately made the platform more prone to hate speech, targeted attacks, and the spread of disinformation," Winter said in an email to NBC.
"If Twitter returns to being a public company run by rational actors, many of us will return."
We wouldn't hold your breath, guys.
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