- Valerie Bertinelli mocked Twitter’s new verification system on Saturday.
- She changed her Twitter handle to that of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
- She reportedly tweeted in his name: “I am a freedom of speech absolutist and I eat doody for breakfast every day”.
Elon Musk was the target of some amusement on the part of Valerie Bertinelli.
The Golden Globe winner, 62, changed her Twitter handle to Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and now Twitter, to demonstrate the flaws in the platform’s new verification system, despite the fact that verified users must pay $7.99 per month to maintain their blue checkmark.
“The blue checkmark simply meant your identity was verified. Scammers would have a harder time impersonating you,” Bertinelli tweeted on Saturday, “That no longer applies. Good luck out there!”
Under Musk’s name, she continued to make her point by tweeting throughout the day with the hashtags #VoteBlueToProtectYourRights and retweeting articles on the midterm elections.
Through her use of humorous gifs, Bertinelli was able to dupe some Twitter users who were suspicious of Musk’s motivations as a result of her posts.
The blue checkmark simply meant your identity was verified.
Scammers would have a harder time impersonating you.
That no longer applies. Good luck out there!— valerie bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) November 5, 2022
The One Day at a Time alum eventually ended her tweeting spree on Sunday, writing: “Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point.”
Comedian Sarah Silverman also changed her name, background and profile picture to mimic Musk’s on Saturday, according to CNN. She reportedly tweeted in his name: “I am a freedom of speech absolutist and I eat doody for breakfast every day.”
A Twitter user questioned Musk about what would happen if someone impersonated a verified profile after seeing these posts.
Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point. 😬 I’m just not a ‘trending’ kind of gal. Never have been, never want to be.
Have a safe Sunday everyone! xo 🤍— valerie bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) November 6, 2022
According to Musk’s response, Twitter will investigate the new profile and “suspend the account trying impersonation and keep the money!” He continued by saying that scammers would be giving away “a whole bunch of free money” if they carried on in this manner.
On Saturday, Twitter released an update for the app that highlighted its new paid verification mechanism. The revised description states that customers will be able to obtain a “blue check mark, just like the celebrities, businesses, and politicians you already follow” if they pay for the service.
According to the New York Times, the corporation has chosen to postpone the launch of the paid verification system until after the midterm elections.
After a legal dispute erupted after Musk, 51, backed out of the transaction in July, he purchased the platform for $44 billion last month and then revealed the new system.
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Due to Musk’s takeover, many celebrities have already abandoned the app, including showrunner Shonda Rhimes, who tweeted, “not waiting around to see what Elon has in store. Bye.”
Sara Bareilles, the star of Girls5eva, tweeted: “Welp. Twitter has been enjoyable. I’m out. People, I’ll see you on other platforms.”
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