The power of a Lip Kit mogul! Kylie Jenner might have affected the stock market in a major way with a single tweet after she shared how dissatisfied she was with the new Snapchat update. The social media app’s stock reportedly fell more than 7 percent on Thursday, February 22, which TMZ reports equaled a loss of $1.3 billion in market value.
The reality star revealed on Wednesday, February 21, that she has stopped using the app recently since its recent change. “Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me,” she tweeted. “Ugh this is so sad.”
sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad.
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) February 21, 2018
She then added: “Still love you tho snap … my first love.”
The following morning, after the initial tweet received more than 270,000 retweets, the app’s shares tanked by as much as 7 percent, according to TMZ. The Life of Kylie star, 20, was named the most viewed person on Snap in 2016, and Daniel Ives — chief strategy officer and head of technology research at market research firm GBH Insights — said celebrities have been a huge part of the app’s success.
“Snap is doing the right strategic moves but needs to manage this process well as celebrity influences like Kylie are a key ingredient in the company’s recipe for success,” Ives said in an email to Fortune. “With 25 million [Twitter] users she carries a lot of weight.”
The recent update separates celebrity and publisher content from users’ friends’ posts. It has received plenty of criticism from users since its launch but Ives believes someone with as much influence as the reality star could also have had some effect.
“We believe this is an overreaction as Wall Street is hypersensitive to the app redesign,” he told CNN. “With roughly 25 million followers, [Jenner] carries a loud mouthpiece that speaks to today’s knee-jerk reaction in shares.”
Jenner isn’t the only one voicing her opinion about the redesign. Chrissy Teigen also criticized the update on Twitter, and an online petition on Change.org has gained more than 1.2 million signatures.
“We hear you, and appreciate that you took the time to let us know how you feel. We completely understand the new Snapchat has felt uncomfortable for many,” the company wrote in response to the petition, adding that the new changes will remain and more updates are to come soon.
