SyncVib

Pope Francis

Status: Checkmark (kind of)

Out of everyone who lost their blue checkmarks, few drew more attention than Pope Francis. The head of the Catholic Church (who has 18.8 million followers) lost his checkmark for a few hours, but after the change drew criticism, the Pope was quickly given a gray checkmark to indicate his association with “a government or multilateral organization account.”

Halle Berry

Status: No checkmark

Academy Award–winning actor Halle Berry (roughly 896,000 followers) made it clear she wouldn’t pay for a checkmark. The day before Twitter implemented its changes, Berry tweeted a video of herself making an entrance at a late night talk show, writing, “Me joining all of you tomorrow unverified” with a smiling emoji surrounded by hearts at the end.

William Shatner

Status: Checkmark

Last month, Star Trek star William Shatner (2.5 million followers) complained on Twitter that Musk wanted him to pay for his checkmark, writing, “I’ve been here for 15 years giving my [time] & witty thoughts all for bupkis.” Shatner did not pay, but he kept his checkmark after Musk personally paid for his Twitter Blue account and that of two others.

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Stephen King

LeBron James

Lil Nas X

Status: No checkmark

The day before Twitter made its changes, Lil Nas X (8 million followers), the rapper known for hits like “Old Town Road” and “Industry Baby,” jokingly tweeted a GIF of a SpongeBob SquarePants character begging for change, writing: “me after i lose my blue check tomorrow.”

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Khloé Kardashian

Charli XCX

Status: No checkmark

English pop singer and songwriter Charli XCX (3.6 million followers) reveled in the fact that she had lost her checkmark, writing that she was “officially no longer an officially verified artist. i love being unofficial and unverified. it’s very moi.”

Taylor Swift

Status: Checkmark

Pop phenom Taylor Swift (92.5 million followers) still had her blue checkmark as of April 21. The Daily Beast wrote: “It’s not a shock that Taylor Swift seems to have already paid for Twitter Blue, given her longtime determination to let anyone else control her narrative.”

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Beyoncé

Status: No checkmark

Multiplatinum recording artist Beyoncé Knowles (15.5 million followers) lost her checkmark, which is perhaps not surprising, since she hasn’t been very active on Twitter in recent years. Her last tweet was in July 2022, promoting her album Renaissance, and that was one of only three tweets she released that entire year.

Selena Gomez

Alyssa Milano

Status: No checkmark

Actor Alyssa Milano (3.5 million followers) defiantly added “NOT PAYING FOR A BLUE CHECK MARK” to her Twitter bio. In a separate tweet, she argued Musk could be liable for defamation, identify theft, or fraud, because his new system could allow others to impersonate her and “say a bunch of bulls–t.”

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Grimes

Status: Checkmark

Eccentric singer/songwriter Grimes (1.3 million) still has her blue checkmark, which is perhaps not surprising since she is Musk’s ex-wife and the mother of two of his children. The day the checkmarks were removed, she was issuing supportive tweets about SpaceX, one of Musk’s other companies.

Justin Bieber

Rihanna

Status: Checkmark

International pop star Rihanna (108.3 million followers) is the fourth most-followed Twitter account, just behind Bieber, and is far more active on the platform than him. She still had her blue checkmark as of April 21.

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Bette Midler

Status: No checkmark

Tony Award–winning actor Bette Midler (2.1 million followers) not only lost her checkmark, she was also extremely vocal in her criticism of Musk, calling him a “worm” and accused him of implementing the new policy “because you don’t have enough money & you’re humiliated b/c everybody thinks you’re a pathetic douche.”

Ice-T

Status: Checkmark

Rapper and actor Ice-T (1.9 million followers) still has his checkmark, even though he has repeatedly stated he doesn’t care about it. He wrote in March, “F–– that checkmark… I guess it matters to some people” and tweeted in support of Stephen King’s response to his own unwanted checkmark. On Thursday, Ice-T wrote: “Maybe it’ll disappear soon. F it.”

Donald Trump

Status: No checkmark

Donald Trump (87.1 million followers) lost his blue checkmark, but the former U.S. president no longer uses his account. He was suspended from the service for his role in inciting the attacks on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, but Musk famously reactivated his account in November. Trump has not returned, however, opting instead to post on Truth Social.

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Ben Shapiro

Status: Checkmark

Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro (5.5 million followers) retained his checkmark. Shapiro was among about three dozen people on a list revealed last month of “VIP users” whose posts are deliberately made more visible than others.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy. He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.

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