Earlier this week, actor Rose McGowan – one of the accusers of Harvey Weinstein – had her Twitter account suspended after she tweeted about the allegations of sexual harassment and assault against him.
The suspension prompted renewed criticism of Twitter over its failure to tackle online abuse – much of which is targeted at women – on its platform.
Can't quite work out how Twitter will protect a phone number but, generally speaking, not the women screaming for justice from abuse.
@mr_luqman_ @yashar She was targeted due to being a woman & speaking out against sexual abuse by men. Meanwhile, li… https://t.co/F4iYjEmC0n
In response to McGowan's account being suspended and the continued harassment of women online, activists are calling for women to boycott Twitter for 24 hours in protest.
#WomenBoycottTwitter Friday, October 13th. In solidarity w @rosemcgowan and all the victims of hate and harassment… https://t.co/VK3M1ChUqA
Celebrities including Mark Ruffalo, Rose McGowan, Kathy Griffin, John Cusack and Anna Paquin have all spoken out in support of the movement.
And now, reigning queen of Twitter Chrissy Teigen, has publicly backed the protest.
She took to Twitter to announce that she'd be boycotting the platform in the hope that the company would make changes as a result.
Ladies. Let's do this. #WomenBoycottTwitter. Not because of hate but because I love this platform and know it can be better.
Tomorrow. No secret timeline checking, no tweets, no clicking the bluebird square. They need to see we matter.
She also explained that her boycott was in a show of support for victims of sexual assault and online harassment.
I'm boycotting for many reasons. To stand with the victims of sexual assault, online threats and abuse. And...
As well as the fact that, thanks to Donald Trump blocking her in July, she's unable to see tweets from the president of her own country.
...to boycott the fact our demented, pussy grabbing president can tweet nuclear threats of war I can't even see.
Tomorrow. And maybe even forever. #WomenBoycottTwitter
She then implored other women to do the same.
Tomorrow. No secret timeline checking, no tweets, no clicking the bluebird square. They need to see we matter.
And within minutes, her mentions were filled with abuse – precisely the reason she'd chosen to boycott in the first place.
My mentions since posting #WomenBoycottTwitter 3 minutes ago #thisiswhy
Then, finally, she switched off her notifications and went silent.
#justincase #offoffoff #WomenBoycottTwitter #babysfirstboycott
See you on the other side, Chrissy.
