Is Elon Musk paying for Stephen King, LeBron James' blue ticks?

Twitter has removed blue ticks from notable figures such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Bill Gates, and others. Elon Musk, on the other hand, has particular preferences to whom he wants to give out blue ticks, like American writers Stephen King and LeBron James. On Twitter, James had stated that he would not pay for the blue tick. Musk, on the other hand, stated that he is directly paying for a select individuals.

Twitter has lately begun removing blue verification badges from users who do not pay to Twitter Blue, its subscription service. It appears, however, that not all users are treated similarly. Celebrities such as LeBron James and Stephan King appear to be excluded from the new rules.

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Stephen King tweeted that he did not subscribe to Twitter blue, despite having a blue tick on the platform. "My Twitter account indicates that I have subscribed to Twitter Blue. No, I haven't.According to my Twitter account, I provided a phone number. "No, I haven't." Musk responded with, "You are welcome namaste."

According to The Verge, despite his public unwillingness to pay for verification, a Twitter staffer offered James a free subscription to Twitter Blue.

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James' communications advisor, Adam Mendelsohn, acknowledged that he has not paid for verification. Elon Musk, who appears to be engaged in this subject, has indicated that he is personally paying for a select memberships, including Stephen King and William Shatner's.

LeBron James has been vocal about not paying for Twitter verification, famously claiming that he would not pay the $5 cost. 

Twitter has removed "legacy" blue ticks from verified accounts. Only accounts that have the Twitter Blue subscription or those who are affiliated with the company, now retain the blue ticks. To subscribe to Twitter Blue, Twitter mandates that the applying account must be active in the past 30 days. Besides, the account also must not show signs of being misleading or deceptive. 

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• Elon Musk
• LeBron James
• Stephen King
• Twitter
• Twitter layoff
• Twitter takeover
• Twitter Blue