Canadian author and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has said he would “rather die” than delete a flagged tweet and will not apologize for his views if his Twitter suspension is lifted. Peterson’s account was suspended this week over a tweet about LGBT Pride Month and a transgender actor.
“Twitter [is] a rat-hole, in the final analysis, I have probably contributed to that, while trying to use, understand and master that horrible, toxic platform,” Peterson told the National Post this week.
“If I can’t be let back on because I won’t apologize, I could care less.”
“There are no rules on Twitter except don’t do what we don’t like today,” Peterson said. “They are always applied post hoc by algorithms and idiots bent on maintaining their woke superiority.”
Peterson insisted he would “rather die” than be forced to remove his own tweet.
According to reports, in the since-removed tweet, Peterson was commenting on a news story about actor Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, who stars in the Netflix series ‘The Umbrella Academy’ and won an Oscar nomination for the lead role in the 2007 movie ‘Juno.’ Page came out as a trans man in 2020.
“Remember when pride was a sin?” Peterson wrote, referring to LGBT Pride Month. He added that “Ellen Page just had her breasts removed by a criminal physician.”
Peterson’s daughter, Mikhaila Peterson, posted a screenshot of the notice her father had received from Twitter. The social media platform said Peterson’s account was suspended for violating the policy that bans “hateful conduct,” which includes making threats and harassment based on gender identity.
Peterson, whose books include ‘12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos’, is known as a strong critic of “cancel culture,” political correctness and identity politics. Opponents often held protests at events he attended. He has five million subscribers on his YouTube channel.