#WomenBoycottTwitter gained momentum on Twitter when actress Rose McGowan’s account was temporarily locked after she released a number of tweets about Harvey Weinstein’s misconduct toward women, including herself. According to Twitter, this violates the company’s terms of service. Twitter’s terms of service should not trump the ability to speak out against abusers like Weinstein.
Twitter retaliated by saying McGowan’s account was temporarily locked because one of her tweets included a private phone number.
Twitter’s response to McGowan only fueled the fire. If Twitter is going to uphold their rules so stringently, it should apply to everyone.
McGowan herself has personal experience of Weinstein’s sexual assault. In 1997, McGowan settled a sexual harassment suit with Weinstein for $100,000. Thus far, there have been many other women who have publicly shared their inappropriate interactions with Weinstein. The New York Times covered a sexual harassment incident involving Weinstein and his unnamed assistant, who he reportedly tried to persuade to give him a massage while he posed in front of her naked at a hotel. This left the assistant “crying and very distraught,” according to a memo by Lauren O’Connor. Also in O’Connor’s 2015 memo are several accounts of women in the company who Weinstein made advances toward.
When McGowan’s Twitter was locked, it hit home. Many other famous female actresses aligned themselves with McGowan and boycotted Twitter on Friday Oct. 13 Among those included were longtime Twitter user, actress Alyssa Milano. “Tomorrow will be the first day in over 10 years that I won’t tweet. Join me. #WomenBoycottTwitter” Lina tweeted on Thursday.
Model Chrissy Teigen also urged women to join her in the boycott, as did other actresses who had faced problems with sexual harassment involving Weinstein, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne, and more.
If Twitter is claiming to “empower and support the voices on our platform, especially those that speak truth to power,” stated by a female spokeswoman, why are they muting women like Rose McGowan?
Photo: Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian
