Comedian Kathy Griffin would not be silenced by Twitter owner Elon Musk on Sunday when he suspended her account for her “impersonation” of him.
She then resurrected her deceased mother’s account to proclaim “Free Kathy” and trigger a war of words with the world’s richest man. (See the tweets below.)
Musk tweeted Sunday that Twitter will permanently suspend accounts that attempt “impersonation” without a clear indication that it’s parody. Griffin and some celebrities had changed their display names to Musk’s, not their account names, to protest his policy change that would make blue checkmark verification available to customers for $8 a month.
“Hot in Cleveland” actor Valerie Bertinellipulled a similar prank to Griffin and issued endorsement tweets of Democratic candidates as “Elon Musk” before changing her Twitter name back. “The blue checkmark simply meant your identity was verified. Scammers would have a harder time impersonating you. That no longer applies. Good luck out there!” the “One Day at a Time” alum wrote.
Griffin greeted Musk’s ban with a response on Twitter “from the grave.” Her mother, Maggie Griffin, died in 2020 but an account that the “My Life on the D-list” star managed for her was still active ― and Griffin reanimated it.
“I’m back from the grave to say… #FreeKathy,” she wrote.
Griffin noted that it was indeed her tweeting “from my dead mother’s account.” “Trust me, she would be with me on this. Relax,” Griffin shot back at an outraged user.
Musk chimed in with the dusty old crack, “Actually she was suspended for impersonating a comedian.”
“I mean… you stole that joke, you asshole,” Griffin replied from the Maggie Griffin account. “People have been posting that joke for hours, you hack. Look, please do a better job running this company. It used to mean something. This is KG btw.”
Musk shot back that if Griffin wanted her account reinstated, she’d have to fork over the $8 monthly fee.
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
Apologize in advance for all the comments you’re gonna have to read about how ugly I am and they’re probably gonna throw you in there too. Oh by the way this is KG. I’m tweeting from my dead mother’s account. She would not mind. #FreeKathy
— Maggie Griffin (@TipItMaggieG) November 7, 2022
Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
I mean… you stole that joke, you asshole. People have been posting that joke for hours, you hack.
Look, please do a better job running this company. It used to mean something.
This is KG btw— Maggie Griffin (@TipItMaggieG) November 7, 2022
But if she really wants her account back, she can have it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
