Comedian Kathy Griffin was booted off Twitter after trying to prove a point about how paid verification doesn’t work. Twitter’s CEO Elon Musk released a response to Griffin’s ban, by trying to be a comedian himself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Griffin will be welcomed back on the platform.
Musk responded to Benny Johnson after he reported on Griffin’s suspension. He jokingly claimed that Griffin was suspended on Twitter, not because of her impersonating him. It was because she was impersonating a comedian, hinting that he isn’t finding any of her jokes funny.
Musk added to his response, saying that Griffin can return to the platform for a cheap cost of $8 a month. In all seriousness, it seems like Griffin won’t be getting her account back soon based on how Twitter’s new owner is treating the ban personally.
Griffin is one of the few celebrities that made use of their verified status to prove a point about Musk’s new verification system. She changed her profile to mimic Musk’s account and began to Tweet left-leaning-type content, making people think that it was him posting it.
Due to multiple false impersonations of Musk and other high-profile people, new rules were added to the verification process. Any impersonation accounts without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended on the platform. No warning will be sent to those who violate the rules.
At the moment, the new verification system has been delayed due to the upcoming U.S. mid-term elections. Once the system rolls out, that will determine if Musk’s newest verification process was a success.