#WomanBoycottTwitter as Rose McGowan’s account gets suspended
October 13, 2017
Film mogul Harvey Weinstein harassment scandal took a turn after actress Rose McGowan’s account was suspended following rape allegations against the producer.
Women across the globe announced to boycott the social media website. Within a few hours, the trend #WomanBoycottTwitter gained momentum as many celebrities endorsed it.
The suspension was seen as just another move to silence women.
The movement was started by a software engineer Kelly Ellis who wrote: “#WomenBoycottTwitter Friday, October 13th. In solidarity w @rosemcgowan and all the victims of hate and harassment, Twitter fails to support.”
How did it start?
Joining the list of other actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan also accused Harvey of sexual harassment.
She had tweeted, "Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave."
She also spoke out against Ben Affleck who spoke against Harvey's actions but was then reminded of a groping incident with Hilarie Burton.
To this, Rose had tweeted, “GODDAMNIT! I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT” you said that to my face. The press conf I was made to go to after assault. You lie."
Shortly afterwards, Rose shared that her Twitter account had been suspended.
She shared, "TWITTER HAS SUSPENDED ME. THERE ARE POWERFUL FORCES AT WORK. BE MY VOICE. #ROSEARMY #whywomendontreport"
Twitter explains suspension
Following the controversy, Twitter explained the reason for suspending the actress' account.
"We have been in touch with Ms. McGowan's team," the company posted on the account it uses for safety announcements, according to The Independent.
"We want to explain that her account was temporarily locked because one of her Tweets included a private phone number, which violates our Terms of Service.
"The Tweet was removed and her account has been unlocked. We will be clearer about these policies and decisions in the future.
"Twitter is proud to empower and support the voices on our platform, especially those that speak truth to power. We stand with the brave women and men who use Twitter to share their stories, and will work hard every day to improve our processes to protect those voices."
