Through the lens of social media, everything looks surprisingly OK for Martin Shkreli a year post-prison. He has embraced what is perhaps his one true calling: being an internet character. And the internet has started to embrace him back.
While Twitter (now “X”) owner Elon Musk hasn’t let him officially rejoin the platform, Martin’s latest alt account, @wagieeacc, has been allowed to remain active for several months, blossoming to a following of nearly 48,000. He’s managed to turn tech influencers into fans by jumping into zeitgeisty artificial intelligence-related discourse. Even some of the “bros” in Elon’s circle have reacted approvingly to his tweets.
He’s back to all the old tricks: Heckling reporters and liberal politicians; making sometimes offensive, sometimes hilarious irreverent jokes; sparring with haters (including calling out people who lob abusive comments from anonymous accounts); and either sarcastically or sincerely hitting on women who overtly sexualize themselves online.
For better or worse, he looks like he’s having a lot of fun. “Fun” can be an enticing quality for romantic partners…and investors. Numerous times, he’s indicated he’s on the prowl for both. Like me, plenty of people in Martin’s past, whether lovers, business associates, or a combination of the two, were sucked in by his cheerfully reckless anti-establishment antics.
