Weird Al Yankovic convinces fans Elon Musk banned Daniel Radcliffe from Twitter

A comedian has managed to convince Twitter that Elon Musk has it out for Daniel Radcliffe, leaving some fans furious and others confused.

Comedians are making a mockery of Elon Musk throwing his weight around as the new owner of Twitter.

The Tesla billionaire has been on a celebrity banning spree this week, blocking Kathy Griffin from the platform yesterday, and today moving on to Daniel Radcliffe.

Or has he?

Wading into the saga with a cheeky prank, musical comic Weird Al Yankovic has managed to convince fans that Musk punished the British actor for his “impersonation” of Yankovic, who he is portraying in an upcoming biopic about the parody singer.

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Radcliffe stars at Yankovic in new film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Picture: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images.

The supposed barring of the 33-year-old Harry Potter star from Twitter left fans scratching their heads, given the only plausible reason he could have earned the ire of Musk was because he was promoting his upcoming film.

As it transpired, it was all a prank. Radcliffe actually hasn’t ever had a Twitter account, or any public social media accounts for that matter.

Given Musk’s controversial moves of late, however, many can be forgiven for falling for it.

Oh no, they suspended @danielradcliffe's Twitter account! Wasn't it obvious he was doing a PARODY???

— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) November 7, 2022

Yesterday, Musk asserted that “any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended”.

The new rule imposed by the father-of-eight came in response to many users changing their name to Elon Musk in protest of his move to charge verified users $US8 per month to keep their coveted blue check, a scheme which has been rolled out this week.

Kathy Griffin, who has 2 million followers, was first on the chopping block after writing a series of tweets under Musk’s name until she was suspended on Monday morning.

Fresh off the back of the drama, Musk “banning” Radcliffe over his apparent parody of parody genius Weird Al Yankovic today left fans up in arms.

So let me get this right… Elon Musk has just suspended Daniel Radcliffe on Twitter for impersonating Weird Al Yankovic on Twitter to promote Daniel Radcliffes new movie where Daniel Radcliffe plays Weird Al Yankovic

— digiguru 🐀 (@thedigiguru) November 8, 2022

You're telling me they suspended Daniel Radcliffe for jokingly impersonating the legend Weird Al Yankovic because he's playing him in a movie? Good Gods what has this app become

— Gabzaras **COMMS CLOSED** (@gabtool) November 7, 2022

Elon Musk just suspended Daniel Radcliffe for portraying Weird Al to promote a movie in which he portrays Weird Al. Apparently acting and Comedy are now both illegal on Twitter. So much for Free Speech. pic.twitter.com/FlgGT7LY19

— Paranoid Humanoid (@DRodbone) November 7, 2022

Daniel Radcliffe getting suspended for portraying his account as Weird Al while promoting a movie where he portrays Weird Al is peak comedy.

— nevertoosweets 🌲 (@nevertoosweets_) November 7, 2022

Musk wrote on Twitter on Monday that all handles engaging in impersonation without specifying they were a parody would be permanently suspended.

“Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning,” he wrote. “This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue.

“Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”

He followed it up with the statement: “Widespread verification will democratise journalism & empower the voice of the people.”

Musk has already made huge changes to Twitter, Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP.

Musk went on to dig the boot in as Griffin’s suspension made its way across the platform, savagely joking that she was actually banned for “impersonating a comedian”.

It comes as many – including US activist and politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – have pointed out the irony of the world’s richest man trying to convince people free speech will be upheld by introducing a paid subscription plan.

AOC wrote last week: “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan.”

The next day, AOC accused Musk of blocking her account after she said something he disagreed with, noting: “Doesn’t seem very free speechy to me.”