They are among the few certified accounts on Twitter that have retained their blue badge. After the deletion of the historical sesames of the social network, only the balls of Twitter Blue subscribers remain. But within this population, three users stand out as an exception.
Writer Stephen King, basketball player LeBron James, and actor William Shatner now serve as exceptions. They are the only people who benefit from the blue badge despite not having subscribed to Twitter Blue. In reality, it is Elon Musk who pays for them.
Information that the owner of Twitter took some personality subscriptions on his own spread quickly on the platform. But the billionaire clarified that he only did it for three people: “Just Shatner, LeBron and King,” he wrote online.
Common point between the athlete, the actor and the writer? All publicly announced that they would not pay to keep their badge of distinction. On the eve of the disappearance of the historical insignia (first scheduled for April 1), LeBron James had indicated that the blue mark would surely disappear from his profile.
“They are the ones who should pay me”
The account of William Shatner, known for his role as Captain Kirk on Star Trek, also sports a blue badge. However, a recent bloody blow from the actor over the loss of the ball had given Elon Musk the opportunity to clarify his philosophy on certification. The businessman had indicated then that it was about “treating everyone equally”.
But the most publicized anger was that of Stephen King. Before the announcement of a paid subscription (initially at a price of 20 dollars), the writer had launched: “They are the ones who must pay me.” He also posted a message stating that he was not at the origin of the subscription.
Elon Musk did not specify why he chose to offer Twitter Blue subscriptions to the three personalities. Obviously, it is above all a bad joke whose secret the owner of Twitter has.
Source: BFM TV
