Current:Home > NewsJamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave' -TradeGrid
Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
View
Date:2025-04-18 11:20:56
Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon are among the big-name X (formerly Twitter) users leaving the social media site since President-elect Donald Trump announced the platform's owner, Elon Musk, will have a role in his administration.
In a Wednesday Instagram post, "Halloween" actress Curtis shared a screenshot showing her X account's successful deactivation. In her caption, she quoted the Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference."
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Curtis for comment.
Around the same time, former CNN anchor Lemon posted an Instagram Reel and a statement on X detailing his reasons for leaving the Musk-owned platform, with which he's had a contentious relationship. In August, Lemon sued Musk over a scrapped content partnership deal with X.
“I have loved connecting with all of you on Twitter and then on X for all of these years, but it’s time for me to leave the platform,” Lemon said in the Reel. “I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Lemon also pointed to X's new terms of service, which go into effect on Friday and direct all legal disputes to be "brought exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas."
“As the Washington Post recently reported on X’s decision to change the terms, this ‘ensures that such lawsuits will be heard in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics,'” Lemon said. “I think that speaks for itself.”
UK news outlet The Guardian is also leaving 'toxic' Twitter
On Wednesday morning, the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, which also has offices in the U.S. and Australia, announced plans to stop sharing content with its 27 million followers across more than 80 accounts on X.
"We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere," the outlet's announcement reads.
"This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism. The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse."
The message concludes: "Thankfully, we can do this because our business model does not rely on viral content tailored to the whims of the social media giants’ algorithms – instead we’re funded directly by our readers."
Musk quickly fired back a response: "They are irrelevant." In a separate post, he wrote, "They are a dying publication."
'America is done'Cardi B, Joe Rogan, Stephen King and more stars react to Trump's win
What is Elon Musk's role in Trump's second presidency?
Last April, NPR left X after its main account was labeled "state-affiliated media," then later "government-funded media." The designation was "falsely implying that we are not editorially independent," the nonprofit news company said in a statement to USA TODAY at the time.
A day later, PBS left the platform under the same circumstances.
Musk, who also owns SpaceX and Tesla, bought the social media site then known as Twitter in 2022 for a reported $44 billion.
On Tuesday, Trump announced Musk, who backed his return to the White House with public appearances and reportedly millions in donations, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a former rival for the Republican presidential ticket, as his picks to co-lead a so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The department would "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies," Trump said in a statement. He has not offered further details about how the group would operate and whether it would be a government agency or an advisory board.
veryGood! (997)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Orphaned duck rescued by a couple disappears, then returns home with a family of her own
- Douglas Clark, convicted murderer and half of the Sunset Strip Killers, dies of natural causes
- Officer shooting in Minnesota: 5 officers suffered gunshot wounds; suspect arrested
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Get $160 Worth of Sunday Riley Brightening Skincare Products for Just $88
- Alabama commission aims to award medical marijuana licenses by the end of 2023
- Jury convicts one officer in connection with Elijah McClain's death
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- FDA bans sale of popular Vuse Alto menthol e-cigarettes
Ranking
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- New York man charged with smuggling $200,000 worth of dead bugs, butterflies
- An Israeli team begins a tour against NBA teams, believing games provide hope during a war at home
- French media say a teacher was killed and others injured in a rare school stabbing
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- JPMorgan profit jumps 35%, but CEO says geopolitics and gov’t inaction have led to ‘dangerous time’
- Fear and confusion mark key moments of Lahaina residents’ 911 calls during deadly wildfire
- In the Amazon, millions breathe hazardous air as drought and wildfires spread through the rainforest
Recommendation
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Visitors are scrambling to leave Israel and Gaza as the fighting rages
Oklahoma judge sent over 500 texts during murder trial, including messages mocking prosecutor, calling witness liar
No more passwords? Google looks to make passwords obsolete with passkeys
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
17 Florida sheriff’s deputies accused of stealing about $500,000 in pandemic relief funds
Offset's Lavish Birthday Gift for Cardi B Will Make Your Jaw Drop
Thursday marks 25 years since Matthew Shepard's death, but activists say LGBTQ+ rights are still at risk