Dionne Warwick is a Twitter star. But does she write her own tweets? It’s a mystery
Say a little prayer for all the people accusing Dionne Warwick of not writing her own tweets.
On Monday, the veteran singer took to her new favorite social-media platform, Twitter, to shut down rumors that she is not the mastermind behind her account, which has drawn attention and admiration in recent weeks for its delightfully snarky humor.
“Well, hello,” Warwick said in a video posted Monday morning. “This is for all you tweeters who have decided that I’m not tweeting my own stuff to you. I want you to know I am. And I’m getting very, very, very good at it.
“You see,” she continued with regal flair, “I have a wonderful niece. Her name is Brittani, and she said, ‘Aunt Dionne, you’ll have a lot of fun if you get on this with me.’ I said, ‘OK, teach me how to do it.’ And she did, and I am doing it. So that should quell all of you naysayers. And if it doesn’t, deal with it.”
Within minutes, thousands of fans flooded the comment section with support for the “Walk on By” artist, who turns 80 this week but somehow tweets like someone who grew up with social media. Or does she?
In a recent radio interview with “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen — also released Monday morning — Warwick again credited her niece, not only for introducing her to Twitter but also for ghostwriting her content.
When asked whether she runs her own Twitter account, Warwick laughed and responded, “No, I don’t. I don’t know anything about [it].”
“My niece Brittani is a hysterical person,” she told Cohen. “She’s funny as all get out. I tell her she should have been a comedian. And she just has a wonderful way with words, and my PR people also feel that they can put a little few things in there for me. I wish I could do that.”
Warwick has addressed her skeptics multiple times before, via selfie video (“It really is me — the real me, yes — and I’m having a ball interacting with you,” she said Nov. 20) and razor-sharp comebacks: “Not this again,” she tweeted Nov. 30 after someone doubted her authenticity. She previously has identified her niece as her “Social & Branding director.”
As Kris Jenner would say, “This is a case for the FBI.”
A few hours after Warwick’s video and the Cohen interview went live Monday, Brittani Warrick herself reacted to her aunt’s social-media fame by tweeting (from her own account), “Once she catches onto something she’s on her own! She’s having fun all on her own now!”
Most likely, Warwick’s ingenious Twitter presence is a collaborative effort among her, her niece and her entourage, which occasionally signs individual tweets, “DW Team.” Either way, one thing is certain: What the world needs now is Warwick’s Twitter feed.
Closing in on 131,000 followers as of Monday, Warwick joined the app in 2012, but only recently picked up viral steam for her sassy commentary.
Over the weekend, for example, the “I Say a Little Prayer” hitmaker turned heads on the platform by hilariously trolling fellow Grammy winners the Weeknd and Chance the Rapper, who were more than happy to play along, much to music lovers’ glee.
“Hi, @chancetherapper,” Warwick(?) wrote Saturday in a buzzy tweet that has amassed more than 158,000 likes. “If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this.”
“Sorry I’m still freaking out that u know who I am. This is amazing!” Chance replied. “I will be whatever you wanna call me Ms Warwick. God bless you.”
Soon, it was the Weeknd’s turn to have his stage name called into question.
“The Weeknd is next. Why? It’s not even spelled correctly,” Warwick quipped, adding, “If you have ‘The’ in your name i’m coming for you. I need answers today.”
“I just got roasted by Dionne Warwick and I feel honored!” the “Blinding Lights” singer tweeted, along with some crying-laughing and heart emojis. “You just made my day.”
Warwick clarified her intentions in a Sunday tweet: “It’s all in good fun. Of course I am just kidding. Those talented young men were good sports & very respectful!”
One musician Warwick seemed to have no qualms with was pop sensation Taylor Swift. On Thursday, Warwick tagged Swift in a more earnest tweet encouraging the “Folklore” artist to “Keep your head high!”
“I hope you’re in good spirits and having a wonderful day,” she said.
Days later came Swift’s enthusiastic reply: “I just saw that you tweeted me!! I’m a huge fan and I respect you so much, thank you for wishing me well. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, thank you for spreading joy.”
Retweet. Check out some more gems from Warwick’s famed Twitter feed below.
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