Do you hear the people tweet? Not so much anymore, as a mass exodus of Twitter began around October 28. That was when Elon Musk, the controversial entrepreneur known for his leadership of Tesla, took over the social media platform as CEO. Under Musk's leadership, hate speech on Twitter has greatly increased and many journalists have seen their accounts suspended (in a seeming contradiction to Musk's claims of supporting free speech).

In response, notable public figures from a wide array of industries have announced their exits from the platform, including some from Broadway. On November 11, in our last-ever post on the platform, Playbill announced the discontinuation of our Twitter accounts, citing Twitter's expanded "tolerance for hate, negativity, and misinformation." See who else has said "Bye Bye Birdie" in the wake of Twitter's change in leadership.

Laura Benanti

The My Fair Lady star had some less-than loverly words for Musk on her way out the door. In a now unavailable tweet, as Benanti's account has since been deactivated, she stated: "Fuck you forever @ElonMusk. Deleting my account today."

Patti LuPone

A month after Patti LuPone's tweet about giving up her Equity card stirred up a frenzy on Twitter, the Tony winner declared on November 25 that she would be "reactivating her MySpace and getting off this electric dumpster fire." She advises that in the meantime, fans can follow her Instagram and Facebook pages, while she "patiently waits for [her] OnlyFans to get verified."

Sara Bareilles

Waitress composer and recent Into the Woods star Sara Bareilles left the platform on October 30, and seemingly criticized Twitter's new direction: "I'm out ... Sorry, this one's just not for me." 

Elton John

World-renowned musician and bonafide Broadway composer Elton John (The Lion King, Billy Elliott, Aida) said goodbye to Twitter in a tweet on December 9: "All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world. I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked."

Ariana DeBose

Oscar-winner, and original Hamilton cast member Ariana DeBose has set her Twitter account private. In her last tweet, on November 12, DeBose posted a photo of herself waving a peace sign at the camera, writing, "Twitter is not the vibe. Hasn't been a vibe for a while. So... tootles."

Toni Braxton

The Grammy-award winning R&B star, and former Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, tweeted on Oct 28 that she would be staying off the app, "as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons, and other POC." Expressing shock at some of the unmoderated hate speech she witnessed since Musk's takeover of the company, she declared that "hate speech under the guise of free speech is unacceptable."

Heidi Blickenstaff

Elon oughta know... Heidi Blickenstaff, of Jagged Little Pill on Broadway and the national tour, left Twitter on November 12. Her departing message was short and to the point: "Y'all, I'm out."