• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Shonda Rhimes tells her 1.9M Twitter followers, ‘Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.’

Steve Mollman
By
Steve Mollman
Steve Mollman
Contributors Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
Steve Mollman
By
Steve Mollman
Steve Mollman
Contributors Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 29, 2022, 7:26 PM ET
Shonda Rhimes attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2019.
Shonda Rhimes was until now a prolific user of Twitter.Gregg DeGuire—FilmMagic/Getty Images

Shonda Rhimes isn’t impressed with Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter, and she isn’t stick around. Best known for creating and writing Grey’s Anatomy, the TV mogul shared what might be her last tweet Saturday, telling her nearly 2 million followers, “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.”

Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, completed his $44 billion takeover of the social media platform on Thursday and promptly fired top executives he had criticized for being too suppressive. 

While he was quick to reassure advertisers on Thursday that the platform wouldn’t become a “free-for-all hellscape,” not everyone was convinced. General Motors said it would temporarily pause advertising on Twitter, adding, “We are engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership.” 

Advertisers, of course, are not keen on appearing near offensive content, and there’s been a sharp increase in that since Musk took control, with Twitter trolls flooding the platform with racial slurs and Nazi memes.

“The danger here is that in the name of ‘free speech,’ Musk will turn back the clock and make Twitter into a more potent engine of hatred, divisiveness, and misinformation about elections, public health policy, and international affairs,” Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, told the Associated Press.

On Friday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted, “To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies.” That followed him tweeting earlier: “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.” 

He also offered glimpses into his thinking about the platform’s future on Friday and early Saturday while replying to Twitter suggestions. When a user noted Facebook has something similar to the content moderation council but still angers both the left the right, Musk replied, “Good point. Being able to select which version of Twitter you want is probably better, much as it would be for a movie maturity rating. The rating of the tweet itself could be self-selected, then modified by user feedback.”

As Musk toys with ideas, however, an increase in hateful content may in the meantime drive some users away from the platform—including prominent ones like Rhimes.

According to the Network Contagion Research Institute, which analyzes social media content and predicts emerging threats, instances of the N-word increased by nearly 500% in the 12 hours immediately after Musk’s takeover was finalized. 

Evidence suggests that bad actors are trying to test the limits on @Twitter. Several posts on 4chan encourage users to amplify derogatory slurs.

For example, over the last 12 hours, the use of the n-word has increased nearly 500% from the previous average. pic.twitter.com/mEqziaWuMF

— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) October 28, 2022

Rhimes, an African-American, didn’t elaborate on why she was leaving the platform. But up until now she’s been a prolific user of Twitter, building a large following since joining the platform in November 2008.

Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 29, 2022

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

About the Author
Steve Mollman
By Steve MollmanContributors Editor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Steve Mollman is a contributors editor at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

NewslettersTerm Sheet
Four key questions about OpenAI vs Google—the high-stakes tech matchup of 2026
By Alexei OreskovicDecember 5, 2025
16 minutes ago
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg adjusts an avatar of himself during a company event in New York City on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Meta may unwind metaverse initiatives with layoffs
By Andrew NuscaDecember 5, 2025
1 hour ago
C-SuiteFortune 500 CEO Interview
Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner says company culture was the missing piece of his ‘patent cliff’ plan
By Diane BradyDecember 5, 2025
2 hours ago
Co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., Jensen Huang attends the 9th edition of the VivaTech trade show at the Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles on June 11, 2025, in Paris.
C-SuiteNvidia
Before running the world’s most valuable company, Jensen Huang was a 9-year-old janitor in Kentucky
By Eva RoytburgDecember 5, 2025
3 hours ago
Future of WorkBrainstorm Design
The workplace needs to be designed like an ‘experience,’ says Gensler’s Ray Yuen, as employees resist the return to office
By Angelica AngDecember 5, 2025
4 hours ago
Four years ago, BKV started buying up the two Temple power plants in Texas—located between Austin and Dallas—which now total 1.5 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity—enough to power more than 1.1 million homes, or a major data center campus. There is room to expand.
Energypower
How a Texas gas producer plans to exploit the ‘mega trend’ of power plants for AI hyperscalers
By Jordan BlumDecember 5, 2025
4 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Bill Gates decries ‘significant reversal in child deaths’ as nearly 5 million kids will die before they turn 5 this year
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.