Valerie Bertinelli had some fun at the expense of Elon Musk.
The Golden Globe winner, 62, changed her name on Twitter to Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and now Twitter, to prove that the platform's new verification system is flawed, despite charging previously verified users $7.99 a month to keep their blue checkmark.
"The blue checkmark simply meant your identity was verified. Scammers would have a harder time impersonating you," Bertinelli tweeted on Saturday, "That no longer applies. Good luck out there!"
She proceeded to make her point by tweeting hashtags like #VoteBlueToProtectYourRights and retweeting articles about the midterm elections throughout the day under Musk's name.
Bertinelli managed to fool some Twitter users who questioned Musk's motives due to her tweets, and replied to them with funny gifs.
The blue checkmark simply meant your identity was verified.
— valerie bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) November 5, 2022
Scammers would have a harder time impersonating you.
That no longer applies. Good luck out there!
The One Day at a Time alum eventually ended her tweeting spree on Sunday, writing: "Okey-dokey I've had my fun and I think I made my point."
Comedian Sarah Silverman also changed her name, background and profile picture to mimic Musk's on Saturday, according to CNN. She reportedly tweeted in his name: "I am a freedom of speech absolutist and I eat doody for breakfast every day."
Following these tweets, a Twitter user asked Musk what would happen if someone impersonated an already verified profile.
Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point. 😬 I’m just not a ‘trending’ kind of gal. Never have been, never want to be.
— valerie bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) November 6, 2022
Have a safe Sunday everyone! xo 🤍
Musk answered that Twitter would look into the new profile and "suspend the account attempting impersonation and keep the money!" He added that if scammers continued to do this, they would be handing over "a whole bunch of free money."
Twitter rolled out a new update on Saturday for the app, highlighting its new paid verification system. According to the updated description, people who pay for the service will be able to get a "blue check mark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow."
However, the company has decided to delay its rollout of the paid verification system to after the midterm elections, per the New York Times.
Musk, 51, announced the new system after he bought the platform for $44 billion last month, following a legal battle that ensued after he backed out of the deal in July.
Many celebrities have already left the app in light of Musk's takeover, including show producer Shonda Rhimes who tweeted, "Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye."
Girls5eva star Sara Bareilles tweeted, "Welp. It's been fun Twitter. I'm out. See you on other platforms, peeps."
