Jamie Lee Curtis has deactivated her X account. The actress announced her departure from the social media site in a post on Instagram, accompanied by the Serenity Poem. Alongside a screengrab of her former profile, she wrote, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.”
Curtis is one of several people (famous or otherwise) who have decided to shut down their X accounts. According to Deadline, the site experienced an exodus after President-elect Donald Trump announced his sidekick Elon Musk will lead his new Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican Party nominee, entrepreneur, and founder of pharmaceutical company, Roivant Sciences.
Musk and Ramaswamy will work to slash government bureaucracy and regulations by July 4, 2026. In a statement via The New York Times, Trump likened his new department to the Manhattan Project. “A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” the president-elect wrote. “I am confident they will succeed!”
While the bromance between Trump and Musk was unexpected, it actually makes perfect sense. The South African-born billionaire decided it would be a good idea to buy X (formerly Twitter Inc.) for $44 billion in 2022 after becoming one of the company’s biggest shareholders. At the time, Musk promised to promote free speech, remove spam accounts, and introduce a bunch of new features to the platform. But instead, he has used the site as a tool to advance his own goals.
Just before the U.S. election, Musk shared a slew of posts on X filled with blatantly false and/or misleading information. This was followed by several appearances at MAGA rallies, cementing his place as an American political figure. Meanwhile, Trump has used his riches and influence (which oddly appeals to the blue-collar, working-class folks) to secure his place in the White House. After the votes were tallied, the pair have reportedly become inseparable.
Following his appointment to the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk released his own statement via The New York Times, saying, “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” But while the billionaire has been playing politics, his social media site has been slowly dying. People on X have been voicing their unhappiness with the site, with some describing it as “a cancer” where “there are no repercussions to violent threats.”
It is currently unclear if leaving X will be enough to safeguard oneself from the uptick in online abuse, which includes women being exposed to the horrific “your body, my choice” rhetoric fueled by alt-right podcaster Nick J. Fuentes. “Hey, b***h, we control your bodies,” he said while his on-screen camera panned over an election crowd. “Guess what, guys win again. Men win again, and yes, we control your body. Hi, I’m your Republican Congressman. It’s your body, my choice,” he shockingly added.
Published: Nov 13, 2024 01:21 pm