Lizzo Latest Celeb to Join Bluesky Amid X Exodus—'Leaving ...
Singer Lizzo has announced that she is joining Bluesky, a social media site that has attracted users leaving X, formerly Twitter.
"I hate the internet. Anyways I joined bluesky cus we're leaving toxicity in 2024," she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, adding a smiling emoji and a link to her Bluesky page. She did not indicate that she was leaving X, though the platform has seen a recent exodus of A-listers.
Since Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, acquired Twitter in 2022, users dissatisfied with his platform changes have explored alternatives, and his involvement in the 2024 presidential campaign has encouraged some to leave X altogether.
Leading up to the vote, the tech mogul campaigned for Donald Trump, who went on to win the election. On Wednesday, the president-elect named Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as leaders of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
In the week following the election, Bluesky—launched by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey—confirmed that it gained more than 700,000 new users, with more than 14.5 million users globally.
X users have also cited a rise in toxic discourse as one reason for leaving the platform, and a 2023 University of Southern California study found that following Musk's purchase, the level of hate speech on X significantly increased.
Lizzo also shared a link to her Bluesky page on X, where she had last posted in September 2023. On TikTok, she posted a screenshot of her page on the new platform, writing in the caption, "#thegreatdigitalmigration."
Newsweek contacted a spokesperson for Lizzo for comment by email on Thursday outside normal business hours.
"Wait... are we having fun on the internet again?" the singer posted on Bluesky.
Lizzo isn't the first famous face to join the platform, as Bluesky counts among its users director James Gunn, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, model Chrissy Teigen, authors Stephen King and Hank Green, former CNN host Don Lemon, and actors Patton Oswalt, William Shatner and John Cusack.
On Wednesday, Lemon announced on social media that he was leaving 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," he said in an Instagram 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," he continued.
Lemon cited X's new terms of service as another reason for his departure. The changes, which are set to go into effect on Friday, say that any legal disputes with X will be "brought exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas."
He added: "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.' I think that speaks for itself."
Lemon directed viewers to follow him on other social media platforms, including Bluesky.
