Harvey Weinstein scandal: Rose McGowan’s Twitter shutdown explained
Twitter has clarified that Rose McGowan’s account was temporarily locked because one of her tweets included a private phone number. Rumors swirled across the Internet after the shutdown of one of Harvey Weinstein’s victims’ account.
In a statement this morning, the social media platform says the offending message has been removed and that the company promises to “be clearer about these policies and decisions in the future.”
McGowan, who was cited in the New York Times bombshell exposé that revealed sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein and revealed the suspension in an Instagram post late Wednesday night. “Twitter has suspended me. There are powerful forces at work. Be my voice,” she wrote.
Late Wednesday, McGowan, a vocal victim in the wake of the revelations of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, wrote on Instagram that her Twitter handle had been “suspended” and the platform’s decision to lock the account for 12 hours was then met with consternation given the unknown reasons behind it.
Twitter also noted it is “proud to empower and support the voices on our platform.”
Here is Twitter’s statement in full:
“We have been in touch with Ms. McGowan’s team. We want to explain that her account was temporarily locked because one of her Tweets included a private phone number, which violates of 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.”
The actress had previously posted a message telling Ben Affleck to “F*** off” and accused him of lying about his knowledge of Weinstein’s history.
