Actor, author and artist Jim Carrey is one of the prominent people leaving Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk‘s tumultuous takeover of the social media giant — leaving at least for now.
On his way out Carrey left his fans and followers with an animation he produced with film director Jimmy Hayward (Horton Hears a Who). The Twitter farewell shows a clothes-free lighthouse keeper weathering a storm. Carrey says the work derives from one of his own paintings.
If the visual is a metaphor for our times, as Carrey implies, we’re in for a “treacherous night” indeed. Carrey wrote:
I’m leaving Twitter, but 1st here’s a cartoon I made with my friend Jimmy Hayward. It’s based on my painting of a crazy old Lighthouse Keeper, standing naked in a storm, summoning the angels and shining his lamp to guide us through a treacherous night. I love you all so much!
I’m leaving Twitter, but 1st here’s a cartoon I made with my friend Jimmy Hayward. It’s based on my painting of a crazy old Lighthouse Keeper, standing naked in a storm, summoning the angels and shining his lamp to guide us through a treacherous night. I love you all so much! ;^j pic.twitter.com/Cqmp74A87r
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) November 29, 2022
Coverage of prominent people leaving Twitter has been a rich vein to mine for mainstream media. In Carrey’s case, the reactions of various networks are a microcosm of the larger narratives being promoted by these sources.
The anodyne Yahoo News headline describing Carrey’s move — Jim Carrey Bids Twitter Adieu With ‘Crazy Old Lighthouse Keeper’ Animation — fits the fact-based narrative offered by the political center, which is broadly echoed by digital news operations of various sizes. For example, MovieWeb writes: Jim Carrey Leaves Twitter, Sharing a New Animation as a Parting Gift.
Right-leaning outlets tend to take a different tack on Carrey’s announcement. Fox News goes with this headline: Jim Carrey roasted on Twitter for announcing exit from social media platform with bizarre video.
In the article, marked as news, not opinion, Fox’s Jeffrey Clark writes: “Carrey appears to be the latest self-inflicted casualty in the left’s meltdown over billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.” Clark writes that the “meltdown” includes The View’s Whoopi Goldberg and singer Sara Bareilles.
