Elon Musk says Twitter ‘went too far’ deleting Jordan Peterson’s ‘transphobic’ Elliot Page tweet
Elon Musk has joked social media account Libs of TikTok after firing another Twitter employee. (Getty)
Elon Musk called out Twitter for “going too far” after temporarily suspending Jordan Peterson for deadnaming Elliot Page.
Author and psychologist Peterson was suspended from Twitter after he deadnamed the transgender actor on 22 June.
The offensive tweet, widely condemned as transphobic by users on the platform, has since been deleted for violating Twitter’s hate policy.
Musk, who is attempting to buy Twitter for $44 billion to turn it into a vanguard of free speech, inserted himself into the situation when a Twitter user asked him on Tuesday (5 July): “BTW, did you see that JBP was recently banned from the bird app? Strange times.”
“Yeah, they’re going way too far in squashing dissenting opinions,” the billionaire replied.
Yeah, they’re going way too far in squashing dissenting opinions
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2022
After his suspension, Jordan Peterson posted a 15-minute long video on his Instagram and YouTube pages slamming the decision.
“The suspension will not be lifted unless I delete the hateful tweet in question. And I would rather die than do that. What was it that I said that caused such a fuss? What exactly was it that I said that resulted in the ban?” he said.
On 29 June, Peterson’s daughter Mikhaila Peterson shared a screenshot of the offensive tweet, and a message from Twitter that her father received.
She wrote: “‘Wow. @jordanbpeterson got a twitter strike. No more twitter until he deletes the tweet.”
She tagged Musk, adding: “Definitely not a free speech platform at the moment @elonmusk.”
Peterson’s account is currently active and the tweet is no longer visible.
Elon Musk is still in talks to buy Twitter for $44 billion but since the proposed deal was announced in April, the process has been stalled.
This news comes after Musk’s 18-year-old child came out as transgender and changed her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson, stating that she no longer wants to be associated with her controversial father.
Wilson says she has no desire to be “related to [her] biological father in any way shape or form” and also filed to correct her gender marker.
Vivian is the daughter of the billionaire and his first wife Justine Wilson, who got divorced in 2008.
Jordan Peterson was contacted for comment.
