Kathy Griffin uses dead mum’s Twitter account to troll Elon Musk: ‘I’m back from the grave’
War of words: Kathy Griffin delights in trolling new Twitter owner Elon Musk. (Twitter/ Getty Images)
American comedian Kathy Griffin has used her dead mother’s account to troll Elon Musk, following her suspension from Twitter.
Griffin was banned from the social media site for turning her profile into a parody of its new owner, something many other users have done since new owner Musk questioned the site’s verification process.
The comedian’s account was removed, with Musk tweeting: “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.”
Griffin did not leave the site for long, however, with an account belonging to her late mother Maggie Griffin popping up, claiming to be the comedian.
“I’m back from the grave to say… #FreeKathy,” she wrote, adding “Oh by the way this is KG. I’m tweeting from my dead mother’s account.”
She added in a separate tweet: “Trust me, she would be with me on this.”
Fans quickly jumped to her defence, with one user pointing out that she had been banned for impersonating Musk, while Kanye West’s account was quickly reinstated following alleged antisemitic tweets in October.
(Kathy Griffin/Twitter)
Griffin has used the account several times to contact Musk since taking it over on Monday (7 November), pleading with the Twitter owner to “do a better job” with the company.
Musk stepped in and addressed Griffin’s suspension on Monday, saying she was not banned from the site for impersonating him, but rather for “impersonating a comedian”.
Griffin clapped back, highlighting that Musk’s fans had been making the joke “for hours”.
“I mean… you stole that joke, you a*****e,” she wrote.
“People have been posting that joke for hours, you hack. Look, please do a better job running this company. It used to mean something.”
The Twitter owner added that she could have her original account back if she pays a fee of $8 per month to upgrade to Twitter Blue.
Musk’s takeover of Twitter has been widely criticised, as he announced new features including paying a fee of $8 per month to gain verification, reportedly pledging to welcome back users who have previously received lifetime bans, and firing multiple teams across the Twitter workforce.
Several celebrities, including Gigi Hadid, Shonda Rhimes, and Toni Braxton, left the platform after Musk bought Twitter, with Hadid saying the app had become “a cesspool of hate and bigotry” after the billionaire’s takeover.
