Celebs Who Have Left X Since Elon Musk's Takeover

Since Elon Musk has taken over X in 2022, numerous celebrities and organizations made the decision to leave the app for various reasons. From Don Lemon to NPR, here is a list of those who have departed from X for good.

Shonda Rhimes was one of the first celebrities to leave X once Elon Musk was announced as the new owner. “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned,” she wrote in 2022. “Bye.”

On Nov. 13, actress Jamie Lee Curtis shared a screenshot showing that her X account had been deactivated to her Instagram account on Wednesday. “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,” she wrote.

On November 13, former CNN anchor Don Lemon announced that he would be making his exit from X. He is also suing Elon Musk in California after having his show on the app canceled.

“I once believed that [X] was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose,” Lemon explained on X in a video.

When Musk acquired the app in 2022, Whoopi Goldberg shared she was leaving X. “I’m getting off today,” she said on The View. “I just feel like it’s so messy, and I’m tired of now having had certain kinds of attitudes blocked, and now they’re back on. I’m going to get out, and if it settles down and I feel more comfortable, maybe I’ll come back.”

On Nov. 13, Lizzo signaled she may be leaving X for good. “I hate the internet. Anyways I joined bluesky cus we’re leaving toxicity in 2024,” she wrote on Instagram. She also shared a link to her Bluesky page.

In 2022, singer Toni Braxton made the call to leave X once she sensed the app would devolve into chaos under Musk’s rule. “I’m shocked and appalled at some of the “free speech” I’ve seen on this platform since its acquisition,” Braxton wrote in her last post. “Hate speech under the veil of ‘free speech’ is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Tw”itter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC.

U.K. based publication The Guardian, which is also has an outlet in Australia, said it would be leaving X. In a statement, The Guardian explained: “This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.”

Though Elton John joined X back in 2010, when Elon Musk was announced as the new owner in 2022 he left the app. “All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world,” John said. “I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”

Last year, NPR shared it would no longer be posting to its 52 official X feeds. The reason for the network’s decision was X move to label NPR as “state-affiliated media,” as term used for propaganda outlets in China, Russia and other autocratic countries. X also labeled NPR as “government-funded media,” which the network insists is misleading.

Los Angeles news outlet LAist announced last year that it supported NPR’s decision to stop using its X accounts and said it would do the same. “We’ll see you everywhere else you get your news,” LAist tweeted.

Last year, Axios reported that Public Broadcasting Service (known as PBS) had stopped sharing posts from its Twitter account after the “government-funded media” label was added to its account.

In 2023, WBUR—Boston’s NPR affiliate—shared that they would stand in solidarity with NPR and stop posting on X. “At moments like this, it bears repeating: WBUR’s mission is to produce high-quality journalism and enriching experiences that foster understanding, connection and community in Boston and beyond,” CEO Margaret Low wrote in a statement.