Bye bye Twitter: Celebrities head to the exit

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A lot of celebrities are heading for the hills following Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter.

CELEBBRITIES who said they would leave if Elon OWNED TWITTER
Sara Bareilles- gone
Toni Braxton- gone
Mick Foley- gone
Brian Koppelman- gone
Erik Larsen- gone
Téa Leoni- gone
ACCOUNTS STILL ACTIVE
Ken Olin
Alex Winter
Jameela Jamil
Rob Reiner (aka) Meat head
still here!

— Augusta Rose (@Augusta29791028) November 2, 2022

Shonda Rhimes, creator of "Grey's Anatomy", and others in the entertainment industry have said they will leave the platform now that it is owned by Musk, a self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" who has vowed to make drastic changes, including potentially lifting the ban on former President Donald Trump.

Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 29, 2022

"I'm not interested in anything Elon has planned. Bye," Rhimes sent a message to her roughly 2 million Twitter followers Saturday afternoon, two days after Musk completed his $44 billion purchase of the service.

Here's a collection:

Sara Bareilles

On Sunday, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tweeted to her roughly 3 million fans, "Welp. Twitter has been entertaining. I'm out. See you on the other platforms, my friends."

Welp. It’s been fun Twitter. I’m out. See you on other platforms, peeps. Sorry, this one’s just not for me. ❤️🙏🏼

— Sara Bareilles (@SaraBareilles) October 30, 2022

"Sorry, this one's just not for me," Bareilles added.

Toni Braxton

"I'm horrified and appalled at some of the 'free speech' I've witnessed on this platform since its acquisition," the Grammy-winning R&B diva tweeted to her nearly 2 million followers on Friday.

"Hate speech under the veil of 'free speech' is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC," Braxton added.

I'm shocked and appalled at some of the "free speech" I've seen on this platform since its acquisition. Hate speech under the veil of "free speech" is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC.

— Toni Braxton (@tonibraxton) October 29, 2022

Mick Foley

In a statement on his public, verified Facebook profile, Foley stated that he is taking a "vacation" from Twitter "because the new ownership — and the disinformation and hatred it appears to be enabling — has my stomach in a knot."

"I really do enjoy connecting with all of you on social media, but it can get overwhelming sometimes. I think I’ll be back on in a few weeks, but in the meantime, I will continue to post on Facebook and Instagram," Foley said. "I hope all of you will be kind to one another; Please vote if you can too — our democracy seems to be hanging on by a thread," he added.

Brian Koppelman

Koppelman, a showtime drama creator of "Billions" and producer of "Super Pumped: The Uber Battle," recently tweeted: "Y'all's, for real, come find me over on instagram and the tok. I'm going to attempt to take a breather from here for a minute or a month after the deal closes."

Since then, the screenwriter and producer has locked his tweets, so only approved followers can view what he posts.

Téa Leoni

Leoni, well-known for her role in the CBS political drama "Madam Secretary", tweeted to her approximately 124,000 followers on Saturday: "Good day, everyone. I'm exiting Twitter today; let's see where we stand after the dust settles."

Ken Olin

Olin, an executive producer on NBC's "This Is Us" and a former star on ABC's "Thirtysomething," tweeted to his almost 293,000 followers that he is "out of here." He then asked for kindness and peace.

Hey all -
I’m out of here. No judgement.
Let’s keep the faith.
Let’s protect our democracy.
Let’s try to be kinder.
Let’s try to save the planet.
Let’s try to be more generous.
Let’s look to find peace in the world.
💙

— Ken Olin (@kenolin1) October 28, 2022

Alex Winter

Winter, best known for his role as Bill in the "Bill & Ted" film series opposite Keanu Reeves, froze his Twitter account shortly after Musk's takeover. His website bio now states "not here" and connects to his Instagram account.

The big picture

Elon Musk claimed that he bought Twitter because he wants to "help humanity" which he loves so much: "That is why I bought Twitter ... I didn't do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love."

This is the same person who provided internet service through Starlink to support neo-Nazis in Ukraine and openly admitted to having a hand in overthrowing democratically-elected Bolivian President Evo Morales to get a grab on the country's lithium resources. Musk is also the same person enslaving children in lithium mines in the Congo to power Tesla. 

In his latest adventures, Musk is eyeing employing Starlink to fuel instability in Iran to overthrow its legitimate government.