Why celebrities are joining Clubhouse, an exclusive new social network

Elon Musk is on it, so is Tiffany Haddish, Lindsay Lohan and Noelle Chesnut Whitmore.

"People literally follow you based on the words that come out of your mouth, the words you speak," said Whitmore, who is CMO of Geojam Music.

We're talking about Clubhouse, the exclusive, audio-only, iPhone only social network that's comprised of virtual rooms and is suddenly the hottest invitation in town.

"It's full of all these little sort of conference rooms, these little TED talks, some of them are packed with people, and some of them have almost no one," explained Tech Expert Lance Ulanoff, who is also a member.

A "room" featuring Musk with the CEO of investment app Robinhood last week, was no surprise, packed.

The conversations aren't supposed to be recorded and disappear as soon as they end.

"It's just kind of this of the moment thing where people talk freely, they share and exchange ideas and then the person who organized the room shuts it down," Ulanoff said.

Whitmore, who worked in event and live music production pre-covid, was invited to join the app in the fall, and says within months, it changed her life.

"It allows you to have access to people you normally wouldn't talk to because of accessibility," she said. "I can literally have a converation with someone from Japan from my house."

After making a series of connections in Clubhouse, she had the idea to stage a live audio version of the movie "The Lion King" around the holidays. Word quickly spread and the production went viral, drawing some big names who listened live and chimed in.

"I was like, 'Is this happening right now? Ava Duvernay, a real life director is talking to me?'" Whitmore said of one of the celebrities who showed up in her "room."

The app currently has more than 2 million users according to Bloomberg, and a waiting list likely longer than that. Its founders say they do plan to open it up to more Clubgoers soon. Ulanoff says the app is likely to begin monetizing its content by charging for access to certain rooms, in the near future.