Twitter owner Elon Musk responded on Thursday to news that the company had reportedly canceled a deal with The Daily Wire to stream “What Is A Woman?” and said that it was “a mistake by many people at Twitter.”
After Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform and his promised dedication to free speech, The Daily Wire sought a deal to stream Matt Walsh’s “What is a Woman?” on Twitter for the documentary’s one-year anniversary. Initially, Twitter responded enthusiastically to the idea, even offering The Daily Wire a package to purchase a whole page for Twitter users to view the film, Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said. That changed after the platform asked to view a screening of the film.
“After reviewing the film, though, Twitter let us know that not only could we no longer purchase the package they offered, they would no longer provide us any support and would actually limit the reach of the film and label it as ‘hateful conduct’ because of ‘misgendering,’” Boreing said in a tweet thread explaining Twitter’s reversal.
“Specifically: In the film, a father refers to his 14-year-old daughter as ‘her,’ and a store owner uses the ‘wrong’ pronoun in a confrontation with a transgender woman,” Boreing continued.
Musk, who is currently outside the U.S. on a business trip, responded to Boreing: “This was a mistake by many people at Twitter.”
“It is definitely allowed,” he said. “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 use someone’s preferred name, simply from the standpoint of good manners,” he continued. “However, for the same reason, I object to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used.”
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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.
I should note that I do personally use someone’s preferred pronouns, just as I…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2023
“I appreciate the reply,” Boreing responded to Musk. “We posted the two clips flagged by Twitter and they were indeed labeled ‘hateful conduct’ and the share functions were disabled on the posts.”
“We are trying to reach your team to determine what this means for those posts, whether or not our event tonight will be allowed to proceed unencumbered, and whether or not we will be allowed to purchase the live event page and reach block as originally agreed,” he continued. “I appreciate your view of polite behavior, but our business is to debate public policy and philosophy. As such, we have an obligation to speak in ways consistent with our position.”
“Our hope is that Twitter remains a place where we are free to do so,” he concluded.
I appreciate the reply. We posted the two clips flagged by Twitter and they were indeed labeled “hateful conduct” and the share functions were disabled on the posts.
We are trying to reach your team to determine what this means for those posts, whether or not our event tonight…
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) June 1, 2023
The groundbreaking documentary released last summer was watched by people in over 70 countries, even as legacy media reviewers ignored the film and its effect on the culture. Soon after its release, “What is a Woman?” became the most watched movie at home, according to Rotten Tomatoes, which also showed that audiences scored the film with a 97% rating.
The documentary arguably sparked a movement to protect children from the harmful effects of sex change procedures. Following the film’s release and Walsh’s subsequent rallies and events speaking out about the tragic consequences of so-called “gender-affirming” care, at least a dozen states have banned transgender surgeries on minors.
The Daily Wire’s Zach Jewell contributed to this report