Whoopi Goldberg claims she's quitting Twitter over Elon Musk: 'I'm out'
"The View" host Whoopi Goldberg announced Monday that she plans to quit Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk's takeover but said she might come back if she feels "comfortable."
"So it has been a little over a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter and the place, it’s a mess… He also suspended Kathy Griffin for impersonating him on a parody account, which has started a FreeKathy hashtag to trend. I’m — I’m getting off. I’m getting off today because I just feel like, you know, it’s so messy," Goldberg said.
Goldberg said she was tired of "attitudes" that have been blocked and are now back on the site.
"I’m going to get out, and if it settles down and I feel more comfortable, maybe I’ll come back," she said. "But as of tonight, I’m done with Twitter."
"Some speech is not OK free speech," she said of the debate over what constitutes protected speech. "You know what? This is our problem, but it ain't my problem today, because I'm out."
Goldberg rarely tweets, but the acclaimed actress and entertainer still has over 1 million followers.
"To everyone, Thanks for everything!" she wrote on Monday after the show. "Until we meet again! Love, Whoop."
Co-host Sunny Hostin said a lot of people felt this way about Twitter since Musk had taken over. Hostin said, "you’ve got this Elon Musk turning it into something that it was never intended to be. It’s going to be the public square. Well I don’t want to be part of that public square, but I also don’t want to miss the valuable information that can be put on there."
Celebrities such as Shonda Rhimes, the creator of "Greys Anatomy," as well as singer Sara Bareilles have said they plan to leave the platform due to Musk's new ownership.
"He originally said when he was going to buy it the first time, you know, he wanted to remove bots and anonymity, but the problem is I think it was short-sighted because this new charge for the blue verified I think is going to make it easier — you’re going to pay to get that, your verification?" co-host Sara Haines said. "People are going to be able to impersonate better."
Co-host Ana Navarro said Musk has only started drama since taking over.
"As far as Elon Musk, I don’t even understand how this guy can run Twitter when he can’t even get himself off Twitter. He is there causing drama on a daily basis. He’s tweeting and tweeting and tweeting and getting into fights. It’s insane," she said.
Musk tweeted Monday that he recommended voting for a Republican Congress.
"To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic," Musk wrote.