Meta has been brewing up a major storm since the release of Threads last week. Deemed the social media conglomerate’s answer to Twitter, Threads saw over 100 million users flock to their new app since its launch on July 6. With its ability to connect your Instagram to the app, many are wondering if this could actually be a realistic alternative to Twitter, compared to other apps like Mastodon or Parler.
Like most new social media trends, plenty of celebrities are becoming early adopters of the new platform. But some celebrities, like actor Ron Perlman, are dumping Twitter altogether to hop on the Threads train. On July 10, Ron Perlman tweeted “Breaking…I’m taking my business to THREADS. Haters stay the f*** out.”
Perlman is no stranger to controversy on Twitter. Over the years, the Hellboy actor has been vocal in sharing his distain for political figures such as Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, and Chief Justice Roberts, as well as the GOP as a whole. Most likely the “haters” are referring to those critics of his political rants.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that said haters are not mourning the loss of Perlman’s content on the platform. The replies of the announcement offer nothing but ridicule of Perlman’s views and the idea of announcing his departure from Twitter as a whole. Twitter user @thevivafrei said “HAHAHAH!!! Have fun. Literally no one here will miss you. As evidenced by the fact that your departure required an exit speech.”
Others compared his announcement to when he originally announced his departure from Twitter back in Oct. 2022 after Elon Musk officially took over the platform. User @LeftismForU presented screenshots to back up the claims being made. User @ThatUmbrella similarly joked “How many times have you ‘left Twitter’ now, Ron?”
Are other celebrities heading to Threads?
Perlman is far from the only celebrity looking to ditch their blue checkmark. Self-proclaimed Twitter CEO and famed singer Dionne Warwick announced her leave from the social media platform not even an hour after Perlman. As she put it, “They’ve got too much going on here.” She didn’t say whether or not she would be trading her Tweets for Threads.
While these celebrities haven’t said whether they’re leaving Twitter for good, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jennifer Lopez all were early adopters of the new social media network. Since joining, all three have been more active on the platform compared to their Twitter accounts.
Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg were already at war with each other, so Threads stealing significant faces from Twitter is adding a lot of fuel to the fire. Twitter has already threatened a lawsuit against Meta claiming Threads was developed using trade secrets from former Twitter employees who jumped ship to Meta. But only time will tell if Threads can really take down Twitter as one of the top social media apps.