The social media giant began removing the once-coveted blue tick verification from thousands of accounts on Thursday.
The move comes as owner Elon Musk attempts to overhaul the social media company to turn a profit.
Users who wish to retain the check beside their name must pay $84 a year (£67) to subscribe to Twitter Blue.
Despite saying he would not pay to be verified, LeBron James still has a blue tick which is a “complimentary subscription” gifted by Elon Musk.
US Olympian Lolo Jones noted she’s still verified where it counts: her dating profile.
Other users noted the irony that actor Jason Sudeikis had lost his verification, while Ted Lasso, the fictional character he portrays, had not.
US rapper Ice T quipped the uproar over the checks was unnecessary.
“The fact that we’re even discussing Blue check marks is a Sad moment in society,” he posted.
The company first introduced the verification feature in 2009, after a former professional baseball player sued the social media giant over imposter accounts.
The blue check became a status symbol and a sign of authority. But in the new Twitter-verse, Mr Musk wants users to pay to be verified.
The decision to monetise verification could usher in a massive cultural and power shift on the platform.
In the days before verification, Kanye West, Shaq and Ewan McGregor were among the first celebrities to speak out about being impersonated on Twitter. Now that the badges are gone, a celebrity’s follower count may become the only way to tell the difference between someone famous and an imposter.
Within a few hours of losing verification, an account posing as Hillary Clinton, complete with the same profile picture as the former US Senator, “announced” she would again run for the presidency.
Under Twitter’s new verification scheme, gold, grey and blue badges are meant to provide more context to how an account was verified.
But the lack of verification is already causing confusion. In New York City, a new handle has claimed to be the “authentic Twitter account” representing the government