Twitter permanently suspends comedian Kathy Griffin

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By Asiya Ali

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Kathy Griffin was the latest person to be suspended from Twitter for impersonating its new owner, Elon Musk.

According to Vulture, the 62-year-old comedian changed her profile name, picture, and head photo to mirror the richest man in the world and then proceeded to tweet in support of Democratic nominees in the upcoming US midterm elections.

Despite her handle showing her name, the moniker by her blue checkmark said "Elon Musk" - which went against the company's new policy against impersonation.

Earlier that day, the platform's new owner announced that Twitter would permanently suspend handles that mimic someone - if the user fails to clearly state that their account is a parody.

Check out Musk's tweets below:

In a series of tweets, Musk wrote: "Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning."

The 51-year-old then added that "any name change at all from a verified account would lead to temporary loss of verified checkmark".

Later, the Tesla founder responded to a tweet about Griffin's suspension, and explained why she was removed from the platform, writing: "Actually she was suspended for impersonating a comedian."

He then jested that if Griffin wants her account back, she can have it "For $8" - referencing his proposed paid-verification blue checkmark system for $7.99 a month.

The comedian now joins the list of several celebrities and figures who had their accounts suspended for parodying Musk on the social media platform.

In a similar case, Sci-fi author and former pro football player Chris Kluwe had his verified account suspended when he changed his details to match the billionaire profile.

On his account with the same profile picture as Musk, Kluwe wrote: "There is nothing better than waking up and enjoying a fresh, steaming cup of my own urine."

In addition to this, YouTuber Ethan Klein, co-host of the popular show H3H3, also had his personal account (@h3h3productions) suspended for impersonating the SpaceX founder.

Klein, posing as Musk, had tweeted a joke about the billionaire’s alleged friendship with Jeffrey Epstein but made sure to flag his tweets as parodies despite changing his name and icon.

After Klein’s suspension, the H3H3 show account - @theh3podcast - tweeted: "Comedy is dead on Twitter and Elon Musk killed it."

Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter two weeks ago and since taking over, he has announced plans to make verified users pay a monthly fee, laid off half its staff, and seen "a massive drop in revenue" on the platform.

Many figureheads and online users have widely criticized the new owner for his rocky start running the site after he slammed its content moderation and promised a new era of free speech.

On Sunday (November 6), Musk tweeted that "Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. That's our mission."

"Accurate to who?" Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter replied. "As judged by the people of Twitter via Community Notes (formerly Birdwatch)," Musk responded.

Per PEOPLE, actress Valerie Bertinelli also impersonated Musk on Sunday, but she seemed to have flown under the radar and gotten away with it without a suspension.

She later tweeted: "Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point. I’m just not a ‘trending’ kind of gal. Never have been, never want to be. Have a safe Sunday everyone!"

Featured image credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy

Twitter permanently suspends comedian Kathy Griffin

vt-author-image

By Asiya Ali

Article saved!Article saved!

Kathy Griffin was the latest person to be suspended from Twitter for impersonating its new owner, Elon Musk.

According to Vulture, the 62-year-old comedian changed her profile name, picture, and head photo to mirror the richest man in the world and then proceeded to tweet in support of Democratic nominees in the upcoming US midterm elections.

Despite her handle showing her name, the moniker by her blue checkmark said "Elon Musk" - which went against the company's new policy against impersonation.

Earlier that day, the platform's new owner announced that Twitter would permanently suspend handles that mimic someone - if the user fails to clearly state that their account is a parody.

Check out Musk's tweets below:

In a series of tweets, Musk wrote: "Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning."

The 51-year-old then added that "any name change at all from a verified account would lead to temporary loss of verified checkmark".

Later, the Tesla founder responded to a tweet about Griffin's suspension, and explained why she was removed from the platform, writing: "Actually she was suspended for impersonating a comedian."

He then jested that if Griffin wants her account back, she can have it "For $8" - referencing his proposed paid-verification blue checkmark system for $7.99 a month.

The comedian now joins the list of several celebrities and figures who had their accounts suspended for parodying Musk on the social media platform.

In a similar case, Sci-fi author and former pro football player Chris Kluwe had his verified account suspended when he changed his details to match the billionaire profile.

On his account with the same profile picture as Musk, Kluwe wrote: "There is nothing better than waking up and enjoying a fresh, steaming cup of my own urine."

In addition to this, YouTuber Ethan Klein, co-host of the popular show H3H3, also had his personal account (@h3h3productions) suspended for impersonating the SpaceX founder.

Klein, posing as Musk, had tweeted a joke about the billionaire’s alleged friendship with Jeffrey Epstein but made sure to flag his tweets as parodies despite changing his name and icon.

After Klein’s suspension, the H3H3 show account - @theh3podcast - tweeted: "Comedy is dead on Twitter and Elon Musk killed it."

Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter two weeks ago and since taking over, he has announced plans to make verified users pay a monthly fee, laid off half its staff, and seen "a massive drop in revenue" on the platform.

Many figureheads and online users have widely criticized the new owner for his rocky start running the site after he slammed its content moderation and promised a new era of free speech.

On Sunday (November 6), Musk tweeted that "Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. That's our mission."

"Accurate to who?" Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter replied. "As judged by the people of Twitter via Community Notes (formerly Birdwatch)," Musk responded.

Per PEOPLE, actress Valerie Bertinelli also impersonated Musk on Sunday, but she seemed to have flown under the radar and gotten away with it without a suspension.

She later tweeted: "Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point. I’m just not a ‘trending’ kind of gal. Never have been, never want to be. Have a safe Sunday everyone!"

Featured image credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy