Right-wing conservative Jordan Peterson was bullied off the internet this week after receiving backlash for body-shaming Yumi Nu, Sports Illustrated's first plus-size Asian American model.
On Sunday, he tweeted the following in response to her feature in Sports Illustrated:
"Sorry. Not beautiful."
"And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that."
The backlash was, as expected, immense.
Many are making the point that, aesthetically, Peterson has no room to cast judgment.
One person responded:
"[H]onestly this took a lot of confidence to tweet considering your face, I appreciate that."
Another said:
"But Jordan, you look like a lizard that perished in a tub of old yogurt."
Even fans aren't happy with his post.
This fan said:
"[I] love your talks… but this comment is beyond disappointing. you may not even know on how many levels this is disturbing."
"[T]ry interviewing more young women on your podcasts."
"[Y]ou’ve got a lot to learn."
"[U]ntil then, stop criticizing women’s bodies ..."
Another person tweeted:
"It is nice of Jordan Peterson to remind us periodically that he is an idiot and should be mocked more often."
"Yumi Nu is stunning, and Jordan Peterson is a putz."
Peterson, a free speech enthusiast who has time and again shared his unsolicited opinions and critiques of others on Twitter, now blames the platform for allowing the flood of hate he naturally received after his tasteless post.
He even went so far as to call the platform "dangerously insane."
As a result, he announced on Sunday:
"So I told my staff to change my password, to keep me from temptation, and am departing once again."
"If I have something to say I'll write an article or make a video."
"If the issue is not important enough to justify that then perhaps it would be best to just let it go."
After taking full advantage of the platform for so long, he could not seem to handle it when he was on the other end of the criticism.
Perhaps Twitter affords a little too much free speech.
Peterson said in a follow up tweet:
"And I plan to write an article on the technical reasons that Twitter is maddening us all very soon."
"Bye for now."
This person tweeted:
"Bruh, when you go out of your way to fat shame a model, of course you’re gonna get a vicious response."
"You should have known better on this one."
Someone else tweeted:
"It’s a tough job being a self-proclaimed gatekeeper of beauty standards."
"Best wishes in your Twitter retirement."
"I hope it makes you feel less angry."
While the trolling seemed to come as a surprise to Peterson, it made perfect sense to the rest of the world.
Enjoy your latest Twitter retirement, Jordan.
