Canadian writers, actors join Twitter boycott

Canadian writers, actors and women’s rights advocates joined a contentious international boycott of Twitter on Friday after the social media platform became mired in the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.

The women’s boycott started at midnight Thursday in New York and was to last 24 hours.

It stirred intense debate, however, about whether silence even for a day is the way to fight abuse — a discussion that played out as women of colour refused to participate, noting it took a white celebrity’s issue to finally prompt such action.

It all began after actor Rose McGowan, a vocal critic who has accused “HW” of raping her, was briefly suspended Wednesday for tweeting a personal phone number.

Actors such as Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow have joined a growing list of women accusing Weinstein of sexual harassment over the last two decades. He has denied through a spokesperson any allegations of non-consensual contact.

Twitter’s move to briefly freeze McGowan’s account incensed users who said far more serious breaches, including threats against women, are ignored.

“Count me in!” posted Canadian-born actor Anna Paquin, who welcomed any men wanting to show their support under the trending hashtag #WomenBoycottTwitter.

American actor Alyssa Milano tweeted Thursday it would be her first day in over 10 years off Twitter. “Join me,” she added.

Model Chrissy Teigen told her almost 8 million followers that she was “boycotting for many reasons.”

“To stand with the victims of sexual assault, online threats and abuse.” Cam Gordon, a spokesperson for Twitter, said the company wasn’t commenting.

Instead, he referred to prior posts from Twitter’s safety branch, explaining McGowan’s account was temporarily locked “because one of her Tweets included a private phone number, which violates our Terms of Service.”