Twitter owner Elon Musk is reacting to his company’s decision to cancel a deal to stream a documentary from a conservative outlet.
On Thursday, Jeremy Boreing, a co-founder of The Daily Wire, released a lengthy Twitter thread about an attempted deal to premiere the documentary “What is a Woman?”
“Twitter canceled a deal with [The Daily Wire] to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of ‘misgendering.’ I’m not kidding,” Boreing wrote.
The co-founder also said Twitter officials said the platform would restrict the reach of “What is a Woman?” if it was shared on the platform.
The documentary focuses on the debate over transgender surgeries and gender identity.
2/16 One year ago today, we released What is a Woman?. To celebrate the occasion and expand the movie’s already enormous impact, we decided to give it away for free for 24 hours on Twitter.
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) June 1, 2023
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh shared a screen shot from Twitter. It showed the platform restricted him from re-tweeting a video clip from the documentary.
Twitter has decided that our film doesn’t contribute to a “healthy conversation.” The only healthy conversation about this subject is one where everyone agrees with trans activists. Is this what free speech means on this platform? pic.twitter.com/aomOEAd9Yj
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 1, 2023
Hours later, Musk responded to Boreing as he wrote, “This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed.”
“Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws,” he continued.
Musk noted he used someone’s preferred pronouns “just as I use someone’s preferred name, simply from the standpoint of good manners.”
“However, for the same reason, I object to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used,” he added.
This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2023
Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.
I should note that I do personally use someone’s preferred pronouns, just as I…
Conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong reacted to the incident as he wrote, “Imagine being Elon. You go to sleep thinking everything is in good hands, and when you wake up everything is on fire.”
Happens a lot 🤣🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2023
“Happens a lot,” Musk responded.