‘Worried about the wrong check’: Black celebrities react to losing blue check marks on Twitter

On Thursday, April 20, Twitter made good on its promise to remove a staple from many accounts. The blue check mark, which verified the authenticity of an account, was removed from any legacy users that had not joined the pay-to-play subscription service Twitter Blue. Some of Black Hollywood’s most vocal on the platform had plenty to say about it. 

Actress Halle Berry updated her followers throughout the saga beginning on Wednesday, April 19. In a tweet she posted with a video of herself walking out on stage and waving at a cheering crowd, she wrote, “Me joining you all tomorrow unverified 🥰.” 

(Left to right) Ciara Wilson, Dionne Warwick, and Lil Nas X are among the celebrities speaking out after losing their Twitter verification. (Photo credit: Getty)

After losing her blue check mark, she followed up on Thursday with more humor toward the situation. Berry tweeted two laughing emojis and a meme involving Dexter from the cartoon “Dexter’s Laboratory” peering in distress at a screenshot of her old verified profile.

Lil Nas X chose to respond in a similar fashion. He tweeted a gif of Squidward begging for money from the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants,” with the caption, “Me after I lose my blue check tomorrow. ” 

After losing his “status symbol,” rapper Wiz Khalifa chose to give some advice. “Y’all mf’s out here worried about the wrong check,” he tweeted. 

Rapper the Game also took a money-minded approach to his reaction. After losing the check mark, he tweeted, “Check gone but the checks still coming.” 

Meanwhile, Ciara was seemingly and similarly unbothered. The R&B singer tweeted, “Blue check or no check… I know my fans still checkin. ❤️” 

While many celebrities who hadn’t subscribed to Twitter Blue lost their blue check marks on Thursday, much to everyone’s confusion, not all did. As of Friday, Ice T’s account remained verified with a blue check mark though it’s unclear how. The only indication Ice T gives is in a quote tweet from the author Stephen King explaining that despite remaining verified, he did not sign up for Twitter Blue. 

Ice T followed up in a tweet a few minutes after saying, “Hey. Maybe it’ll disappear soon.. F it.”  

The legendary and outspoken Dionne Warwick, who has asked to have words with Elon Musk about his controversial plans for Twitter’s future, flagged one of the potential consequences of this program that has left the world wondering how this new verification process will play out in the long run. 

After losing her check mark, she tweeted, “The way Twitter is going, anyone could be me now. The verification system is an absolute mess.”

---

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to ‘Writing Black’ with Maiysha Kai.