Elton John is joining a list of notable Hollywood figures leaving Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform.
The “Rocket Man” singer, who joined in August 2010 and has 1.1 million followers, claims his reason for leaving is due to misinformation being allowed to spread.
“All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world,” John tweeted on Friday. “I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.” John did not elaborate further on the policy change. In a November update, Twitter announced that the platform was no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy.
After seeing his Tweet, Musk replied to John, saying, “I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?”
John joins other notable Hollywood figures who have said they will no longer use Twitter with Musk behind it, including singer Sara Bareilles, This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin, Billions showrunner Brian Koppelman, and Grey’s Anatomy creator and producer Shonda Rhimes.
While some have completely wiped their accounts, other stars and notable names seem to have just stopped tweeting and using their accounts altogether. In a November report, a digital strategist and podcaster told The Hollywood Reporter they are recommending clients to keep their accounts and not use them. “You can say that you’re going to sunset the platform in its current state or not post anymore past a specific date but I don’t recommend deleting entirely because you’re never going to get that audience back. I’m telling everyone to sit tight — for now,” Wynter Mitchell Rohrbaugh told THR.
Since Musk took over Twitter at the end of October, he has faced criticism over his handling of the social media platform, including policy changes and mass company layoffs. Advertisers have also pulled back.
Amid his tenure, the Tesla CEO has been open about free speech being a focus for the platform, saying he would reinstate accounts for previously banned users, such as former President Donald Trump. But following backlash from advertisers, Musk tweeted in November, writing, “New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.”
