Meek Mill has been popularly known for “Twitter fingers” since his 2015 beef with Drake, but the 35-year-old is officially done with the bird app as of Sunday (Dec. 18). The Expensive Pain rapper cited “too many bots and weird people” as his reasoning for his official exit and will instead interact with fans through YouTube.
The Philadelphia spitter is just the latest of several celebrities who have called it quits after Elon Musk’s notorious takeover at the end of October. Whether it’s users buying verified checks and impersonating celebrities, the increase in racial slurs, the brief elimination of Twitter Spaces, or the inability to promote other applications on the app, the billionaire has seemingly done more harm than good.
Soulja Boy turned the downfall of the bird app into an entrepreneurial opportunity — as he does with almost everything he sees fit. The “Crank That” rapper announced he was leaving Twitter to start his own platform and questioned Elon Musk’s approach on Nov. 11. “Bro leave twitter alone @elonmusk,” the 32-year-old said. “wtf are you doing.”
Bro leave twitter alone @elonmusk wtf are you doing
— Soulja Boy (Draco) (@souljaboy) November 11, 2022
Whoopi Goldberg told her audience on The View that she was taking an indefinite hiatus on Nov. 7. “It has been a little over a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter and the place is a mess,” the 67-year-old said. The host spoke on some of the changes — and subsequent backpedals — the billionaire made before announcing her imminent future on the app. “I’m going to get out, and if it settles down and I feel more comfortable, maybe I’ll come back.”
Gigi Hadid lasted almost as long as Whoopi, but ultimately felt she had to escape the “cesspool” that the app had become.
“I deactivated my Twitter account today,” the 27-year-old said via Instagram story on Nov. 6. “Especially with its new leadership, it’s becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate & bigotry, and it’s not a place I want to be a part of. Only sorry to the fans, who I’ve loved connecting with for a decade via Twitter, but I can’t say it’s a safe place for anyone, nor a social platform that will do more harm than good.”
Sara Bareilles told her music label she couldn’t write them the “Love Song” that they wanted back in 2007, and resolved to no longer write any Tweets as of Oct. 30. “Welp. It’s been fun Twitter. I’m out,” the 43-year-old wrote. “See you on the other platforms, peeps. Sorry, this one’s just not for me.”
Shonda Rhimes wasn’t willing to wait as long as the EGOT winner, model, or Grammy winner and jumped ship on Oct. 29. “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye,” the Scandal creator said. She has not returned to the app since.
Toni Braxton wasn’t pleased with users engaging in hate speech and how it could affect people of color. “I’m shocked and appalled at some of the ‘free speech’ I’ve seen on this platform since its acquisition,” the R&B legend said. “Hate speech under the veil of ‘free speech’ is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC.”
Jameela Jamil seemingly saw the writing on the wall several months before Musk officially took over, taking her exit on April 25 with a humorous farewell. “One good thing about Elon buying twitter is that I will *FINALLY* leave and stop being a complete menace to society on here,” the British actress said. “So it’s win win for you all really.”
