(The Hill) — Author Stephen King announced Thursday that he is leaving the social media platform X because of its “toxic” environment.
“I’m leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic. Follow me on Threads, if you like,” King wrote in a Thursday post on X.
The announcement came just a day after the horror book author said that he was not banned from X, a platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
“I see there’s a rumor going around that I called the Musk-man Trump’s new first lady.” he said. “I didn’t, but only because I didn’t think of it. There’s also a rumor going around that Muskie kicked me off Twitter. Yet here I am.”
He has been a long-time critic of President-elect Trump. King said that Trump’s first administration was “scarier” than his best-selling novels.
“[The] short answer to that is yes, I do,” King said. “I do think it’s scarier.”
The author has been critical of Trump’s ardent backer, Musk. King has butted heads with the entrepreneur over his decision to initially charged X, then called Twitter, users $20 to keep their verification.
“$20 a month to keep my blue check? F— that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron,” King said, to which Musk replied, “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
King was one of many public figures who expressed dismay and shock following Trump’s victory over Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
“There’s a sign you can see in many shops that sell beautiful but fragile items: LOVELY TO LOOK AT, DELIGHTFUL TO HOLD, BUT ONCE YOU BREAK IT, THEN IT’S SOLD,” King said.
“You can say the same about democracy,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to X for comment.
