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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.
\u201cTwitter it\u2019s 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.\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
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.
\u201c@BellaRamsey We\u2019ll miss you. Stay awesome! \ud83d\ude0e\ud83e\udd18\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey Bella we love you and will still have your back on here!\n\nStay safe \ud83d\udc99\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey We love you "Bellie", I hope that you're not leaving because anything bad happened. I know how these things go, sometimes it's very awful, and I'm glad that you're taking a break.\n\nHope to see you again on my screen very soon! \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25\n\nYou have a lot of fans that love you very much!\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey This is so disheartening to see I'm sorry Bella you didn't deserve any hate\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey Bella, you are amazing & we love you! \ud83e\udef6\ud83c\udffb\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey @karl4_s We love you more than we can express! Be well, take care! We will always be here for you, Bella \ud83d\udc97\u2728\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey Do what is best for you! Your work is phenomenal and I\u2019ll wait patiently til Last Of Us comes back.\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
\u201c@BellaRamsey Bye Bella. Thank you for sharing your journey here for a brief time. I look forward to your next roles!\u201d— Bella Ramsey (@Bella Ramsey) 1682094636
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.