Days after the Twitter suspension of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist beloved by the far-right, for a transphobic tweet about actor Elliot Page, gay far-right talk-show host Dave Rubin has also been suspended for transphobic attacks against the actor.
Far-right provocateur Ben Shapiro broke the news on Twitter with a transphobic tweet of his own in which he denied Page's gender identity and "deadnamed" the actor, using his pre-transition name.
In the post, Shapiro shared a screenshot of Rubin's statement on his suspension over the tweet, composed in iPhone's Notes app.
Both Shapiro and Rubin claimed the latter was suspended for sharing Peterson's tweet, though it is far more likely Rubin was suspended for also deadnaming Page.
See the posts below, but be warned the tweets will be disturbing to some readers.
\u201cDave Rubin didn't get suspended by Twitter just for reporting on Jordan Peterson's suspension -- he also deliberately and separately deadnamed Elliot Page in his own tweet, violating Twitter's policy.\n\nBut he knows that -- and it all just plays into his grievance business model.\u201d— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1657030613
The tweet that got Rubin suspended read:
"The insanity continues at Twitter. @jordanbpeterson has been suspended for this tweet about Ellen Page."
That is the name Elliot Page was known by before their transition.
Using a trans person's dead name is a violation of Twitter's terms of service, which is why Peterson's tweet, in which he used Page's dead name while claiming the doctor who performed their mastectomy was a "criminal," resulted in his suspension.
This connection seemed to have evaded Rubin, judging from his Notes app screed, in which he claimed to have no idea why he was banned. He wrote:
"I have been suspended by Twitter for posting a screenshot of Jordan Peterson's tweet which got he himself suspended."
"While it is unclear how I broke their terms of service, it is clear that they are breaking their fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders by letting a bunch of Woke activists run the company."
Rubin then name-checked the far right's favorite billionaire, Elon Musk, before directing his followers to a fundraising platform.
Among Twitter's non-transphobic rank-and-file, Rubin's tantrum went over about as well as Peterson's meltdown did last week.
\u201cThis has to be the most pathetic arc I've seen the right go down. Just being assholes and acting like the saviors of mankind in the process.\nFor the record Dave Rubin made me wait a year on his social media platform before rejecting debatesamsederyoucoward . locals\u201d— The Serfs (@The Serfs) 1657044870
\u201c@justinbaragona "what rule did I break!" My dude it's literally in the reporting function.\u201d— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1657030613
\u201c@justinbaragona "Oppression is when a guy whose wedding I'd never attend because I think his very existence is blasphemous gets suspended from a social media platform he uses for free for violating terms he agreed to beforehand!"\u201d— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1657030613
\u201cLmao so Dave Rubin got suspended for deadnaming Elliot Page, whilst referencing Jordan Peterson\u2019s suspension after he deadnamed Elliot Page. In response to Dave Rubin being suspended, Ben Shapiro has now deadnamed Elliot Page\n\nIt\u2019s like teaching toddlers, man\u201d— The man who ate his boots (joel) (@The man who ate his boots (joel)) 1657055733
Conversely, there was plenty of love to go around for Elliot Page.
\u201cElliot Page has now driven the mental breakdowns of Jordan Peterson AND Dave Rubin and he didn\u2019t even have to say anything. what a king\u201d— Jack Saint (@Jack Saint) 1657033481
\u201cDave Rubin got suspended for deadnaming Elliot Page. Page's power for driving the worst people off this site is amazing.\u201d— Trekkie Bill \ud83d\udd96 (@Trekkie Bill \ud83d\udd96) 1657029889
\u201cElliot Page cleansed Twitter of disgusting regressive homophobes Jordan Peterson & Dave Rubin without saying a word.\n\nThat\u2019s totally badass.\n\nDo Charlie Kirk & Ben Shapiro next.\u201d— The USA Singers (@The USA Singers) 1657052257
\u201cJournalist in a few days time: "Mr Page, how do you feel about single-handedly getting Shapiro, Rubin, and Peterson banned from twitter?"\nElliott Page, lazing by the pool sipping a mojito: "What? I dunno man, I've not turned my phone on all week. Did something happen?"\u201d— A Revenant Wooloo (@A Revenant Wooloo) 1657050580
Still others weren't buying that any of this was even real and theorized that Rubin sabotaged himself for the attention.
\u201cThe first thing I thought when I saw this is that all these guys are weird as hell for being this offended by the existence of a trans guy in his 30s that transitioned like two years ago. The second thing I thought is that Dave Rubin %100 reported his own tweet.\u201d— Spurt Magoo (@Spurt Magoo) 1657033388
Others predicted that despite his bluster, Rubin would be back to tweeting in no time at all once his account was restored.
\u201cI give jordan peterson 3 days until he realises he is completely reliant on on social media outrage for buzz and becomes a regular poster again, and dave rubin maybe 5 hours\u201d— Jack Saint (@Jack Saint) 1657033481
That turned out to be a solid prediction. Rubin's account has since been restored, and he's making hay of this controversy as we speak.
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