Nonbinary actor Bella Ramsey—who starred in HBO’s TV series adaptation of the queer-inclusive 2013 zombie video game The Last of Us—has left Twitter.
Ramsey did not give a reason for leaving, but the move came after Twitter quietly revoked its policies against LGBTQ+ harassment, including its protections against misgendering and deadnaming. Ramsey’s supporters—whom they refer to as their “gay army”—have been supportive of their role as queer teen Ellie in the show.
Ramsey wrote:
"Twitter it's been fun. My account will still be active for now but I will not be on here!"
"Thank you my gay army and all the rest. Love you."
You can see her tweet below.
The repeal of the policy comes amid criticism of Elon Musk for supporting a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech on the platform.
Musk—who has a trans daughter—has a long history of spreading transphobic rhetoric. His recent purchase of Twitter has only increased concerns for the safety of trans people on the platform.
Last week, he followed a number of anti-LGBTQ+ accounts—including Chaiya Raichik’s far-right Libs of TikTok—and tweeted doctors or parents who support gender-affirming care for kids should “go to prison for life.”
With this in mind, Ramsey's fans expressed their support for them after they announced their departure.
Twitter’s decision to officially roll back its safety policies for the LGBTQ+ community sparked concern and outrage from the community and its allies.
Many fear this change will lead to increased discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals.
Ramsey’s departure from Twitter highlights the importance of creating a safe and welcoming space for all individuals on social media platforms and the responsibility companies have to protect their users from hate speech and harassment.
GLAAD—an LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization—condemned Twitter’s decision to repeal its policies, citing a poll of LGBTQ+ Twitter users conducted in February 2023 that found 60% of respondents experienced an increase in abusive and hateful speech on Twitter since Musk took over the company.
