Throngs of Hollywood actors are throwing their support behind Rose McGowan and vowing not use Twitter for one day after McGowan was suspended from the social media site Thursday. She had been recounting her experiences with disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Stars are using the hashtag #WomenBoycottTwitter to let their followers know they are signing off Twitter on Friday. Though the hashtag highlights the women standing with McGowan, including model Chrissy Teigen and actress Amber Tamblyn, men are also joining in. Terry Crews and Mark Ruffalo shared the hashtag as well.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded to the boycott late Friday saying: "We see voices being silenced on Twitter every day. We’ve been working to counteract this for the past 2 years."
Dorsey said the company is working on new rules around unwanted sexual advances, non-consenual nudity, hate symbols, violent groups and tweets that glorifies violence. The changes will start to roll out in the next few weeks, he said.
On Thursday, Twitter suspended McGowan's account for violating its terms and policies. Twitter said McGowan's account was suspended "because one of her Tweets included a private phone number, which violates our Terms of Service." Once the tweet with the phone number was deleted, her service and access were fully restored, Twitter said.
She had been sharing heated, pointed tweets, alleging that "HW raped me," apparently referring to Weinstein, though she did not provide the details of what she says occurred or if she reported the alleged assault to authorities.
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A growing number of women have alleged sexual harassment or assault at Weinstein's hands. He has denied "any allegations of non-consensual contact," issued an apology for causing pain and threatened a lawsuit against The New York Times, which last week broke the story.
The company added that it "is proud to empower and support the voices on our platform, especially those that speak truth to power."
Many people, including McGowan, questioned Twitter's decision to suspend her tweeting privileges. "When will nuclear war violate your terms of service?" McGowan asked, referring to President Donald Trump's frequent Twitter threats aimed at North Korea and its growing nuclear capabilities.
Twitter's guidelines forbid "threats of violence" on its platform, but the company has said it uses discretion in determining the newsworthiness of tweets.
Others also questioned the reasoning behind McGowan's suspension, that she tweeted a private phone number, which other users have done without penalty.
Many who are using the hashtag explained why they're boycotting Twitter. "Brooklyn 99" star Crews, who recently said he was sexually assaulted by a Hollywood executive, said, "I stand with the women. No more tweets for me too."
"Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" actress Tamblyn opened up last year about being sexually abused. "And for now, I’m off Twitter. I’ll be back with more to say soon. And there is so very much to say," she tweeted with the trending hashtag.
Take a look at other high-profile stars showing support for McGowan and other victims.
