When Elon Musk purchased Twitter, he decided to make some changes in order to better monetize the social media platform. One of those was introducing Twitter Blue, which would cost $8 a month and was the only way to receive the blue verification checkmark synonymous with Twitter. This announcement did not go over well with most as celebrities across all walks of life scoffed at the notion of paying for such a thing, including Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
LeBron has been open throughout his career about the fact that he is a cheap person when it comes to things like this with teammates throughout his career in the NBA verifying this point. So paying $5 for that checkmark was never in the cards for the Lakers star as he made clear on Twitter a couple of weeks ago:
Welp guess my blue ✔️ will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5. ??♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 31, 2023
Many celebrities have already lost the blue check and have taken to making jokes about it on the platform, calling out the ridiculousness of the situation as a whole. The backlash towards Musk has been immense, but he has held firm on the subscription. However, he has since announced a couple of exceptions and James is amongst them.
On his personal Twitter page, Musk would confirm a report that he will personally pay for the Twitter Blue subscription of James, William Shatner and Stephen King:
Just Shatner, LeBron and King
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2023
Exactly why Musk chose these three people specifically is unclear, but it looks as if LeBron’s checkmark is here to stay. Obviously LeBron has far more important things to focus on right now with the Lakers in the midst of a tense first-round playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies, but when he does come back to social media, that blue check will still be there.
Lakers’ LeBron James calls Game 3 vs. Grizzlies the most important of the series
The Lakers and Grizzlies are currently tied 1-1 heading back to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday night. The atmosphere inside Crypto.com Arena will be absolutely electric and LeBron James understands that this is the biggest game of the year.
LeBron called Game 3 the most important of this series with Memphis and said that the Lakers should not feel comfortable just because they are headed back home. The Lakers star would add that he is excited to be in front of the home fans for a postseason game, but made it clear that if the team is not locked in, they can easily lose this game, and home court advantage in the series.
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