After #RIPJimmyFallon trends on Twitter, Elon Musk responds to the TV host with jokes
Late-night host Jimmy Fallon has had his first issue with Elon Musk‘s Twitter, just weeks after the Tesla founder took over the social media platform.
“#RIPJimmyFallon” began trending Tuesday night, with Twitter users sharing posts and making memes about the comedian’s fake death. The hashtag concerned fans and the “Saturday Night Live” alum himself. Fallon, who is still alive, was not happy.
“Elon, can you fix this? #RIPjimmy Fallon,” he tweeted Tuesday.
According to a notice that was previously displayed with Fallon’s tweet, “a user took advantage of Elon Musk’s product change allowing anyone to have a verified account for $8 to create an account that looked like the official @FallonTonight handle.”
Twitter’s biggest problem used to be the human nature of its own users. Elon Musk has changed that.
Fallon asked for Musk’s help but didn’t tag him and didn’t get a response until Wednesday. Instead of offering an immediate solution, the SpaceX founder replied to Fallon with a joking response.
“Fix what?” his first tweet said early Wednesday.
“Wait a second, how do we know you’re not an alien body snatcher pretending to be Jimmy!?” Musk wrote in another reply Wednesday afternoon. “Say something that only the real Jimmy would say …”
Fallon has not yet responded to Musk. The comedian’s Twitter woes come amid continued issues around fact-checking and verification on Twitter — which have gotten worse since Musk’s takeover at the end of October.
Among his first moves, Musk introduced a revamped Twitter Blue, a new subscription plan where users fork up $8 a month to be a verified account. As a result, some users started impersonating official accounts, causing negative consequences for some companies.
With a late-night memo to Twitter employees, Elon Musk made his clearest move yet to force a company culture reset.
On the flip side, users who were already verified before the new incarnation of Twitter Blue have complained about not being able to change their usernames after that functionality was temporarily frozen.
Among them was singer Doja Cat. Last week, the “Say So” musician jokingly updated her display name to “Christmas,” but when she tried to change it to something else, she had some trouble and looked to Musk for help.
“i don’t wanna be christmas forever please help i’ve made a mistake @elonmusk,” she tweeted.
“You should be able to change your name now,” Musk tweeted, days after the Grammy winner also threw expletives his way.
A handful of celebrities have bailed on Elon Musk’s Twitter. Others are vowing to stay and fight the good fight — or at least complain about changes.
Twitter’s new era under Musk has caused some celebrities to rethink their relationship with the social media platform. Some — including Shonda Rhimes and Toni Braxton — declared they were breaking up with Twitter. Others, like conservative actor Kevin Sorbo and comic Terrence K. Williams, said they’re sticking around.
“I’m not leaving Twitter,” Williams tweeted last week.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
