Gigi Hadid deactivates her Twitter page after Elon Musk takeover: ‘A cesspool of hate and bigotry’

Gigi Hadid has deactivated her Twitter account and slammed the social media platform as “a cesspool of hate and bigotry” in an impassioned post.

The supermodel shared her thoughts about Twitter on her Instagram Story on Saturday. Her post comes amid the company going through many shake-ups since Tesla founder and billionaire Elon Musk took it over in recent weeks.

“I deactivated my Twitter account today. For a long time, but especially with its new leadership, it’s becoming more and more a cesspool of hate and bigotry, and it’s not a place I want to be a part of,” she wrote.

The mom of one added that she was “only sorry to the fans” who she’s loved “connecting with” over the years.

“I can’t say it’s a safe place for anyone, nor a social platform that will do more good than harm,” she concluded.

Ms Hadid joins a host of other celebrities who have left the platform in response to Mr Musk’s takeover. Brian Koppelman, Shonda Rhimes, Sara Bareilles, Toni Braxton, and more have all announced their departure from Twitter in recent days.

Mr Musk’s new vision for Twitter, which he purchased in a $44bn deal that closed at the end of October, has included mass layoffs, restructuring how the platform doles out verification badges and pivoting to a subscription-based model.

In response to cutting thousands of jobs, the richest man in the world has defended his decision by saying “unfortunately, there is no choice.”

“Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4m (£3.5m) a day,” he told the world via tweet. “Everyone exited was offered three months of severance, which is 50 per cent more than legally required.”