Despite initial appearances, LeBron James did not pay for a verified Twitter account.
Earlier Thursday, James still had a blue tick after Twitter removed them from users who had not paid $8 to keep them.
Social media reacted strongly to James’s tick being in tact after March comments in which the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer tweeted he would not be paying to use the social media and news platform.
But it appears Elon Musk has picked up the tab for James. According to, a report from The Verge, a Twitter employee email James ‘to extend a complimentary subscription… on behalf of Elon Musk.’
Musk tweeted out Thursday evening in response to the report; ‘I’m paying for a few personally.’
Elon Musk revealed Thursday evening that he had paid for LeBron James’s Twitter verification
It initially appeared LeBron James chose to pay his money to stay verified on Twitter
Though, Elon Musk soon dispelled that as nothing more than a myth while replying to a report
On March 31, the Lakers star insisted he would not be paying for verification status.
He wrote on his account: ‘Welp guess my blue tick will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the five.’
James incorrectly thought it would cost him five dollars but it is actually eight – and the feature, which is called ‘Twitter Blue’ is already available for users who are willing to pay for it.
James is currently battling it out for the Lakers in their NBA playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. The series is currently level at 1-1, with the Grizzlies winning Wednesday night’s game.
Dillon Brooks taunted James, 38, after the game, calling him ‘old’ and saying he doesn’t respect him. The 38-year-old dropped 28 points, alongside 12 rebounds and eight assists in the 103-93 loss.
James and the Lakers have a chance to regroup with Games 3 and 4 both in Los Angeles.
The King was taunted by Memphis’ Dillon Brooks during the second half of the Lakers defeat
