A social media presence is all but a requirement for famous people these days, and the content celebrities publish on their own terms provides gossip websites with a near-infinite supply of publishable stories. A series of tweets from Kanye West will be on People.com in 45 minutes. Chrissy Teigen’s public replies to haters will get 500 words on Us Weekly at least, oh, twice a week. But none of that coverage is allowed to happen without the help of a particular phrase.
Though used on occasion, verbs like “tweeted” and “instagrammed” aren’t always emotive enough for tabloids. If you’re famous, sending a newsworthy message on Twitter doesn’t mean you “tweeted,” it means you “took to Twitter.”
Below is a non-comprehensive list of celebrities who “took to Twitter” in February 2016.
February 1
- Kris Jenner, “to gush about her son Rob Kardashian’s new website for his sock line Arthur George.” [People]
- Ariel Winter, “to defend her decision to show her breast reduction scars when she attended the SAG Awards on Saturday.” [People]
February 2
- Melissa McCarthy, “to address the absence of Sookie St. James in the Gilmore Girls revival.” [E! Online]
February 3
- Kanye West, to “[backtrack] on his statement by explaining what he REALLY meant.” [Perez Hilton]
- Ted Cruz, “to respond to Donald Trump’s, 69, claims that he should be disqualified from the Iowa caucuses for fraudulent campaign practices” [Hollywood Life]
February 4
- Donald Trump, “to accuse Cruz of ‘stealing’ his victory.” [People]
- Blake Shelton, “to vent his recent frustrations over tabloid reports about him, his career and his romance with Gwen Stefani.” [E! Online]
February 5
- Ryan Reynolds, “to answer a number of followers’ burning questions with the hashtag #AskRyan to promote his upcoming anti-hero film Deadpool, and we gained so much knowledge about this Hollywood stud that we didn’t even know we needed.” [E! Online]
February 6
- Celebs and fans of Vanessa Hudgens, “to hail her performance [in Grease Live]. [Us Weekly]
February 7
- John Legend, “to post a photo of President Barack Obama with his hand covering his mouth, with the caption, ‘When you realize your dad took your mom to red lobster every week.’” [Us Weekly]
February 8
- Kanye West, “to preview some looks from the highly-anticipated fashion presentation occurring on Feb. 11 at Madison Square Garden.” [People]
February 9
- Kelly Clarkson, “to announce that she wrote her first children’s picture book and it stars her precious daughter, River Rose Blackstock, 1.” [Hollywood Life]
February 10
- Duncan Jones, “and paid tribute to the late legendary singer [his father, David Bowie] by sharing a special announcement: His wife Rodene Ronquillo is pregnant.” [People]
- Daniel Bryan, “before Raw to share that after 16 years, he was officially done [with professional wrestling] due to medical reasons.” [Hollywood Life]
February 11
- Kim Kardashian, “to share just how proud she was of her husband for what he put together today.” [E! Online]
February 12
- Kanye West, “to address the critics on Friday, February 12, just hours after he debuted the song during his Yeezy 3 collection presentation in NYC.” [Us Weekly]
February 13
- Kanye West, “to rant about a recent negative online review of his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show during New York Fashion Week.” [E! Online]
February 14
- Rhymefest, “to express his deep concern for Kanye’s mental health!” [Hollywood Life]
February 15
- Katy Perry, “to give her gal-pal [Demi Lovato] some major props.” [E! Online]
February 16
- Adele, “to spill the details on what really went wrong while she sang ‘All I Ask’ off of her hit album, 25.” [E! Online]
February 17
- Adele, “to explain what happened at the show.” [People]
February 18
- Donald Trump, “to poke fun of rival Jeb Bush’s glasses – or lack thereof.” [Us Weekly]
February 19
- Spencer Pratt, “to apologize for making “such a thoughtless analogy” in reference to his 9/11 comment.” [People]
- Rihanna, “apologizing to fans for her absence at the [Grammys].” [People]
February 20
- Ryn Weaver, “to first diss [Katy] Perry’s endorsement of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, and then to slam the pop star herself.” [Us Weekly]
- Chrissy Teigen, “[to write] ‘“I just held a tiny baby of sleepy mush and I’m just prepping you for ‘chrissy teigen holds baby stupidly’ article. She was nuzzly and happy!’” [Us Weekly]
February 21
- Demi Lovato, “to discuss women’s rights and to show her support for Kesha.” [Us Weekly]
February 22
- Khloe Kardashian, “to shut down the speculation [about the state of her relationship with Lamar Odom]. [People]
- Ne-Yo, “to announce the news [about his wife Crystal Renay’s pregnancy] ‘from the horse’s mouth.’”[People]
February 23
- A non-celebrity named Elizabeth Line, “to accept the ‘honor.’” [People]
- Tony Goldwyn, “to share his excitement about the former Secretary of State’s drop-by.” [Hollywood Life]
February 24
- Chrissy Teigen, “to fire back at some critics.” [E! Online]
February 25
- Donald Trump, “airing his on thoughts about the interview and demanding an apology [from Vicente Fox].” [People]
- The stars of Bones, “to thank viewers for their support.” [Us Weekly]
February 26
- Kim Cattrall, “to share photographs of a white car smashed into her home.” [People]
- Sean Ono Lennon, “clarifying that any reports that his mother had suffered a stroke were false.” [People]
February 27
- Aaron Carter, “to endorse Donald Trump in the race for president of the U.S.” [Us Weekly]
February 28
- Mindy Kaling, “to show off her box of Samoas.” [People]
February 29
- Kesha, “to show her appreciation for the sexual assault dialogue instigated by Lady Gaga’s Oscars performance.” [People]
- Sam Smith, “to apologize to Dustin Lance Black.” [Us Weekly]
Final Tally*:
Took to Twitter Once - Kris Jenner, Ariel Winter, Melissa McCarthy, Ted Cruz, Blake Shelton, Ryan Reynolds, Fans of Vanessa Hudgens, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Duncan Jones, Daniel Bryan, Kim Cattrall, Kim Kardashian, Rhymefest, Katy Perry, Spencer Pratt, Rihanna, Ryn Weaver, Demi Lovato, Khloe Kardashian, Ne-Yo, Elizabeth Line, Tony Goldwyn, The Cast of Bones, Sean Lennon, Aaron Carter, Mindy Kaling, Kesha, Sam Smith
Took to Twitter Twice - Chrissy Teigen, Adele
Took to Twitter Three Times - Donald Trump
Took to Twitter Four Times - Kanye West
* Though this was not an exhaustive list of celebrities who “took to Twitter” this month, I feel it is largely representative of the climate.
Contact the author at bobby@jezebel.com.
Images via Twitter/Shutterstock.