Stephen King is known rightfully as the “King of Horror,” with over 60 published novels, many of which have been adapted into spine-tingling movies and television series and watched by horror fans all around the world. Incredibly outspoken and always willing to share his thoughts, King is also one of the most interesting celebrities to follow on social media — and he’s shown absolutely no signs of stopping.
From dunking on Donald Trump to recommending fresh-faced horror releases, he’s made a name for himself on X (Formerly known as Twitter) for always having something to say and consistently interacting with his fanbase. But, which moments exactly are his definitive best? Well, allow us to dive in and explore his 10 best moments on social media thus far.
1. King exposes Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hypocrisy
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is a lot of things, but it’s clear she’s not a major fan of admitting when her hypocrisy is incredibly blatant. And, considering how often King adores giving his two cents on political matters and calling out politicians, it didn’t take long before King decided to quote-retweet MTG in the smoothest way. So when MTG happily proclaimed that she stands with “Texas” and Donald Trump, the horror novelist immediately clapped back that it’s pure hypocrisy Greene doesn’t support the whole of the country, not just Texas.
2. Calling out J.K. Rowling
King is always happy to give his say on human rights issues and took one opportunity to completely shut down J.K. Rowling’s transphobia. Rowling had shared King’s praise for her work, before the eventual gravity of Rowling’s consistent transphobic rhetoric became clear it wasn’t something King wanted to be associated with. King tweeted “trans women are women,” and Rowling then deleted her tweet sharing his praise.
3. Feud with Elon Musk
King is not adverse to taking on some of the biggest names or shaking the hornet’s nest. Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of X and subsequent announcement of several (terrible) proposals, King quickly took to the platform and shared his dismay at the idea of paying $20 a month to stay verified. Musk responded by immediately backing down on the $20 idea.
4. Confirming the time he was nearly arrested at a book signing
You’d think with a face as distinct and a brand as prestigious as King’s, there’d be no issues with him being confused for other people. Alas, there was. During a book signing event in the rural city of Alice Springs, Australia, King was faced with an arrest after the bookstore owner didn’t recognize him!
5. Dunking on Trump
Lifelong democrat King has been vocally opposed to far-right politicians for his entire career, with one of his best books The Dead Zone even predicting a figure like Donald Trump rising to power. With the endless list of controversies coming out of Trump, King is always there to hit the nail further into his coffin. Following King joining Trump’s Truth Social, he was among the first to mock Trump for his “stolen” election comment.
6. Movie recommendations
Who would you trust more than Stephen gosh-darn King to recommend you some fantastic horror films? The esteemed author has made a habit of sharing what he’s watching, with him always there to lend a review to new horror releases. Among his most recent recommendations have been for Halloween Ends, Barbarian, and Terrifier 2.
7. Announcing his total hate for Christmas movies
Hating Christmas seems like a completely wild concept, but perhaps when you’re the King of Horror, it makes perfect sense why all the Yuletide joy might sicken you. As it turns out, King definitely appears to be more of a Halloween fan, with the author happily announcing to his millions of followers on X that he just absolutely hates Christmas movies. And, yes, he made these comments just one week before Christmas in December of last year. We certainly won’t find ourselves in a battle with the almighty of horror, but wow, Stephen… Christmas?!
8. When he defended Marvel, even though he’s not a fan
Listen, the MCU is a huge bubble, that’s quite obvious, and it’s also obvious that the horror writer isn’t a big fan. But discrediting an artist’s work? That’s definitely where King draws the line. So while he might not be a Marvel superfan himself, King didn’t waste any time in coming to the defense of the crew, director, producer, and actors involved with The Marvels. So, he’s not a fan. That’s fair, but he’s damn sure an ally.
9. He hates Christmas movies, but he loathes X
Considering his long-standing feud with Elon Musk, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that King isn’t a big fan of X. That being said, King’s frustrations definitely lean more towards the concept of AI as a whole, but any one who spends more than 10 minutes on X shouldn’t be shocked by the lack of enthusiasm for the social media platform.
10. King agrees his birthday should be a holiday
Let’s be honest: If you’re a horror fan, there’s arguably no person more special and recognized than King. And when it comes to die-hard horror fans, one in particular insisted that all writers should take King’s birthday off and treat it as a holiday. Without skipping a beat, King thanked the fan and replied that his birthday as a national holiday “sounds good” to him. Count us all in.
Published: Feb 1, 2024 11:42 am