Months after baseless speculation overtook the internet that The Real Thelma Johnson was dead, one of Phoenix’s top parody social media accounts is back.
On Sunday, the account tweeted for the first time since Oct. 18, sharing a very simple message: “F*CK ELON MUSK!”
F*CK ELON MUSK!
— TheRealThelmaJohnson (@TheRealThelmaJ1) February 10, 2025
Phoenix New Times named The Real Thelma Johnson the Best Political Twitter Parody account of 2023, and for good reason. The account is known for roasting MAGA politicians like Donald Trump and Arizona’s own Kari Lake, creating original memes using Photoshop and making hilarious use of its fiery grandmotherly character. The Real Thelma Johnson boasts a following of 100,000 people on X.
So, is she really back now?
New Times sent a direct message to the account to ask about its return and inquire about whether the account plans on migrating to other social media platforms, considering its criticism of Musk and X. Whoever runs the account — who, to be clear, is almost certainly not an old woman — has not responded.
Before Sunday, Arizona’s favorite “MeeMaw” last tweeted in October, posting a screenshot from an Engadget article explaining how X would be giving data to third parties to train their AI models.
A month after that tweet, a social media user named Art Candee claimed to have heard "heartbreaking" news that Thelma Johnson had died. Yet Candee nor anyone else could rustle up any actual evidence or corroborating details, like a cause of death or a date. Some social media users recalled a post from Thelma Johnson's account from one of her "sons" sharing the news of her death, but no such post has been reproduced.
It’s worth remembering that the account’s profile picture is either a stock photo that has appeared on a number of websites or an image of an Ohio woman who died in 2018. Whoever runs the account — it’s not clear — said that they had grandchildren in a June interview with Cathy Sigmon of Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, but it’s impossible to know whether they are genuinely serious or method acting. If the person running the account is indeed a grandparent, their Photoshop skills are particularly impressive.
Whether the “F*CK ELON MUSK” missive was a one-time shriek from the beyond the grave or a sample of more tweets to come, it’s good to have one of Arizona’s top shitposters back, for however long it lasts.
