Artist and all-around entertainer Dionne Warwick just celebrated her 80th birthday on Dec. 12, and a good portion of the festivities took place on Twitter, a place where Warwick has become an unlikely star. Even though she's had her account since 2012, the "I Say a Little Prayer" singer didn't find this specific type of viral fame until recently, with a series of witty and self-deprecating social media posts. While their entertainment value isn't in question, there is some controversy over who, exactly, is writing Dionne Warwick's tweets. Even the star herself has offered some conflicting answers to that query. Read on for a brief history of Warwick's social media domination and for what we know about its authorship. And for the artist that defined your generation, This Was the Hottest Pop Star the Year You Graduated.
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Warwick has some hilarious tweets go viral.
_DionneWarwick/TwitterIn addition to sharing news about her career and upcoming appearances, Warwick typically tweets about life and pop culture a few times a day, often engaging with her followers. One of her most talked-about sprees happened earlier this month, when the star tweeted at younger artists Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd about their stage names—particular the article they both have in common.
"Hi, @chancetherapper," she tweeted on December 5. "If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this."
"I am now Dionne the Singer," she joked in a separate tweet, before setting her sights on another hugely popular musician.
"The Weeknd is next. Why? It’s not even spelled correctly?" Warwick asked, tagging the star.
"If you have 'The' in your name i’m coming for you," she tweeted later. "I need answers today."
Both artists took her teasing as a compliment, given her legendary status in the entertainment world.
"Sorry I’m still freaking out that u know who I am. This is amazing!" Chance tweeted. "I will be whatever you wanna call me Ms Warwick. God bless you."
"I just got roasted by Dionne Warwick and I feel honored!" the Weeknd responded. "You just made my day."
Some of Warwick's other greatest hits include using screenshots of Maya Rudolph playing her in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as her own headshots, coming out as a massive Taylor Swift fan, and promising to "one day...clarify the Psychic Friends Network to this generation." (If you grew up in the '90s, you likely remember her appearing in their commercials.)
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In an interview with Andy Cohen, she gave the tweet credit to her niece.
Featureflash Photo Agency/ShutterstockIn a Dec. 7 appearance on his radio show, Warwick told Andy Cohen that she doesn't handle her Twitter on her own.
"My niece, Brittani [Warrick], is a hysterical person. She's funny as all get-out. I tell her she should have been a comedian. She has a wonderful way with words, and my PR people can put a little few things in there for me."
And she's referred to Warrick's assistance several times on the platform itself. For her recent milestone birthday, Warwick asked fans to use the hashtag #DionneTurns80. "Brittani says that she can help me see who is using my hash tag," she tweeted on December 11. "It sounds like voodoo, but she is a millennial."
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But she seems to contradict that claim on Twitter later.
_DionneWarwick/TwitterThe same day as the Andy Cohen interview, Warwick shared a video on her Twitter account, directing it to anyone who assumed that all of her tweets were being ghostwritten.
"Well, hello," she begins. "And this is for all of 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. You see, 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 'Okay, 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."
So what's the real breakdown? We may never know. It could be that her niece wrote some of Warwick's tweets while she was getting up to speed on Twitter and now she does more of them herself. Or maybe they collaborate on the wording. Or maybe Warrick is helping Warwick navigate the platform while the singer composes her tweets herself. Whatever the workflow, Warwick is claiming her thoughts as her own, and her followers are continuing to enjoy her warm and funny tweets.
Even Saturday Night Live poked fun at Warwick's cheeky Twitter persona.
Saturday Night Live/YouTubeOn the Dec. 12 episode of SNL, Ego Nwodim played Warwick in a sketch about the singer hosting her own talk show that was clearly inspired by her love of social media. Nwodim's version of the star is uninterested in and a little confused by who her young celebrity guests are. (The only question she asks Chloe Fineman as Timothée Chalamet is to unlock her phone so she can send a "clapback" to Wendy Williams, who the real Warwick is in a bit of a feud with.) Warwick's niece is even represented, serving as her producer.
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And the singer has the best response.
_DionneWarwick/TwitterWarwick seemed thrilled by the SNL sketch and especially Nwodim's portrayal of her.
"This was a hilarious birthday gift. Thank you, @nbcsnl," she tweeted, sharing a video of the sketch. "That young lady’s impression of me was very good and who knew @BrittaniWarrick had so many jobs?"
"You did a wonderful job, baby. You are a star," she added, tagging Nwodim.
"Extremely touched by Ms. Dionne’s kindness and generosity of spirit," Nwodim responded on her Instagram. "So glad I did her proud."
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