Elton John, Dolly Parton and More Stars Who Swore Off of Having Smartphones

Don’t try to get in touch with these celebs via text. They’ve sworn off smartphones!

Here’s why they’re off-line.

Ed Sheeran

The 34-year-old learned of his dear friend Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce the same way the rest of the world did. Explaining that she scrolled through her texts to notify her loved ones, Taylor told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon that she neglected to inform Ed because he wasn’t in her contacts. “You have to email him, and if you want to FaceTime him, he has to find an iPad. They have to give it to him like he’s a child that you give the iPad to,” joked the 35-year-old, adding that she was devastated when she realized she hadn’t told her pal. “When the news came out, I was like, ‘Oh, my God! We forgot to call Ed!’”

Michael Cera

An early experience with a friend who was glued to his device during a lunch turned the 37-year-old off. “For the whole meal he was typing emails, and I was sat there lonely and bored,” the Barbie star told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that not having a smartphone was “a conscious choice, because I feel a bit of fear about it honestly, like I’d really lose control of my waking life.”

Justin Bieber

The singer and new dad, 31, told Billboard in 2021 that he doesn’t own a cellphone for his own mental health. “I definitely learned how to have boundaries, and I just don’t feel like I owe anybody anything,” he explained. “That has helped me to be able to just say no and just be firm in it and know that my heart [wants] to help people, but I can’t do everything.” More recently, however, the “Sorry” singer has been spotted with a phone!

Dolly Parton

Keeping it old school! The country legend’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus, 32, described how she communicates with the 79-year-old. “We do use the phone,” Miley told Late Night host Seth Meyers. “But she does a fax, and then someone scans the fax, and then they put it into a text message, and then that gets sent to me. And it’s always signed!” The “Wrecking Ball” singer went on to say that she appreciates the messages. “You know that she took the time.”

Christopher Walken

“I don’t have a cellphone or a computer,” the 82-year-old admitted to The Late Show host Stephen Colbert. After saying that he came to the technology too late and would be embarrassed to have a 10-year-old be more adept at it than he could be, he reasoned, “Cell phones are a bit like a watch. If you need one, somebody else has got it.” He’s not wrong!

Elton John

He has people for that! The mega-star has an assistant to take care of his calls, he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “I just don’t want one,” the 78-year-old insisted of getting his own device. “I’m a Luddite.” His husband, David Furnish, 62, handles his Instagram!