For the last week, Hollywood and the movie industry has been rocked by the sexual harassment scandal surrounding producer Harvey Weinstein. While it seems as if his predatory behavior was pretty much an open secret, the fact that he has just now been fired from his own company after decades of allegations is a clear sign that the industry has serious work to do. However, the women who have spoken out have been met with a variety of responses—ranging from skepticism to outright hostility. And some of them have been silenced from sharing their stories altogether. Actress Rose McGowan is one of them. She was blocked on Twitter after sharing her story of harassment by Weinstein.
Actress Rose McGowan has been temporarily blocked from Twitter after denouncing the film producer Harvey Weinstein and his collaborators. Reports by The New York Times and the New Yorker published over the last week allege that Weinstein raped three women and sexually assaulted and harassed numerous others, using his influence in the industry to threaten and silence his victims. The Times reported that McGowan herself reached a settlement with Weinstein over undisclosed claims in 1997.
McGowan wrote a series of tweets which called out actors such as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck that she says knew about Weinstein’s abusive behavior but remained silent about it. Though it’s not completely clear why she was blocked, Twitter claims that she “violated the Twitter Rules” and would need to delete certain tweets before the suspension would be lifted.”
This is one of many examples of how women and other activists for social justice issues are punished for speaking out, especially on social media. It is misogyny in action. Content that is about the experiences of women and people of color is controversial and subject to banning but conservatives are free to blatantly lie and attack women’s reproductive freedom without consequence. And then, of course, there is Donald Trump—whose lies and random rants attacking minorities and women on Twitter seem to have no end in sight.
For critics of Twitter, this is only the latest example of the company’s arbitrary and opaque enforcement of its own rules. In the past, it has suspended users for simply sharing threatening messages they’ve received, while those reporting rape threats are told the messages do not violate Twitter’s rules. And there’s no shortage of active accounts telling others to “fuck off” on Twitter.
Many female celebrities have asked women to stage a boycott of Twitter in support of McGowan.
Social media is both a blessing and a curse. It’s great for sharing information widely, fostering dialogue and connecting with people. It’s pretty awful if you are a woman and a person of color, especially when you try to bring issues of injustice or abuse to light. Perhaps a boycott will finally force people to listen to our voices once and for all.