Elon Muskcelebrated Halloween amid the drama and controversy stemming from his Twitter takeover.
On Monday night, the billionaire dressed up to attendHeidi Klum’s iconic Halloween party, walking the carpet alongside his mother, model and activistMae Musk.
“Halloween with my Mom,” he captioned a photograph of their costumes on Twitter. Included in the snap was Brooke Wall, the founder and CEO of the Wall Group, a talent agency representing stylists and artists in the fashion industry.
Although Musk, 51, seemingly didn’t dress up as a specific character for the night,E! Newsreported he arrived in what appeared to be a costume from a local costume shop in New York City. The outlet reported that the costume is called the “Devil’s Champion—Leather Armor Set,” which is $1,000 to rent or $7,500 to purchase.
Elon Musk and Maye Musk.Taylor Hill/Getty
The public outing came just days after Musk closed a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter. Since then, controversy has swirled overreports on upticks in hate speech, whetherDonald Trump’s ban will be reversed — “If I had a dollar for every time someone asked….Twitter would be minting money!” he wrote in one recent tweet — as well asrumored changes for verified accounts.
Elon Musk.Gotham/FilmMagic
Musk, who recently updated his bio on the platform to read “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator,” has yet to announce any specific changes, but since he gained control, a number of celebrities have vowed to leave the platform.
“Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye,“Grey’s AnatomycreatorShonda Rhimeswrote on Oct. 29, shortly after the deal was closed. She has not tweeted anything since, although her account is still active.
The same goes for singerSara Bareilles, who said “it’s been fun” but “I’m out” over the weekend.
Referencing an increase of hate speech on the platform since Musk’s acquisition, singerToni Braxtonsaid she was “choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe spacefor myself, my sons and other POC.”
Other notable names who have said they’re leaving the platform areBill & Ted’s Alex WinterandThis Is Usexecutive producer Ken Olin.
However, not everybody thinks leaving Twitter is the answer. “For those who are fighting to preserve our Constitutional Democracy,now is not the time to leave Twitter,” tweeted filmmaker and actorRob Reiner, who has continued to post about the midterm elections.
NBA greatLeBron James, who has not said anything about leaving the platform, alsoshared his concerns about the reported increase in hate speechsince Musk’s takeover.
“I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF,” hewrote. “So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.”
In response, Musk directed James to a series of tweets from Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Head of Safety & Integrity, who acknowledged that in the 48 hours since the acquisition was announced, “we’ve seen a small number of accounts post a ton of Tweets that include slurs and other derogatory terms, calling it a “trolling campaign.”
In a follow-up message this week, Roth wrote that the company has “been focused on addressing the surge in hateful conduct on Twitter.” Since Saturday, Roth said Twitter has removed over 1,5000 accounts and reduced “impressions on this content to nearly zero.”
Additionally, Musk has made it clear that so far, there have beenno “changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies.”
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Another source of contention since the takeover? Reports that Musk isconsidering making users pay to have a blue checkmark.
“$20 a month to keep my blue check?F– that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron,” prolific author Stephen King wrote in response to the idea.
“It ain’t the money, it’s the principle of the thing,” he added in a follow-up message.
In response, Musk wrote, “we need to pay the bills somehow!”
“Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?” he added, going on to write, “I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented.It is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls.”
A rep for Twitter did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s request for comment on whether Musk’s Tuesday tweet would be the new policy.
source: people.com
