Twitter restores blue checks for dead celebrities

Twitter’s blue tick saga has taken an interesting turn after celebrities who are no more, including late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, late Hollywood actor Chadwick Boseman and late American singer Chester Bennington, got their blue tick restored.

A statement explaining the restoration of the service for the celebrities who passed away said that the “account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number”. However, it is not clear who paid for the service.

The last activity seen on Rajput and Bennington’s Twitter account was in 2019 and 2017 respectively.

Sushant, who featured in Bollywood movies like ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ and ‘Chhichhore’, was found hanging in his Mumbai flat on June 14, 2020. He died at the age of 34.

Chadwick, who starred in the movie ‘Black Panther’, died in August 2020 after a battle with colon cancer. He passed away at the age of 43.

Chester, who struggled with depression and substance abuse for most of his life had died by suicide by hanging himself. He died on July 20, 2017, at the age of 41.

Other celebrities who are no longer alive and got their blue tick restored include American professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, singer-songwriter and dancer Michael Jackson and Canadian comedian Norm Macdonald, among others.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk had announced that those who do not pay for the service would have their blue tick disappeared from April 20.

Twitter Blue was launched in India on February 8 and is available on a monthly subscription fee of Rs 650 on the web, and Rs 900 on mobile devices.

— IANS