Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski: Facebook banning President Trump gives big tech the 'MOST POWER' — and now it 'can shut any of us up'
Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski told her 1.5 million Twitter followers Thursday that Facebook indefinitely banning President Donald Trump in the wake of the U.S. Capitol siege gives big tech the "MOST POWER" — and makes clear that it "can shut any of us up."
This gives Facebook/tech/Zuck THE MOST POWER. If he can shut the president up/off he can shut any of us up/off— Emily Ratajkowski (@Emily Ratajkowski)1610043781.0
She followed up her tweet with a protective caveat, saying she realizes "this is going to be an unpopular take but seems worth pointing out."
How did her followers react?
It's common for the Twitter mob to quickly lash out at celebrities who even appear to question criticism or harsh treatment of Trump, and it was no different in Ratajkowski's case:
- "Are you f***in serious girl??????" stand-up comic Krystyna Hutchinson asked.
- "THATS what you choose to speak on today?" another commenter asked the supermodel. "Not the territorials or unjust treatment of minorities in this country?? I wish someone would censor you."
- "Even Republicans have said he is squarely to blame," another user said in regard to Trump. "You worship this man for what?"
- "This is such a privileged take, omfg," another user declared. "You think a marginalized person can talk a bigot out of bigotry? Reason rarely wins online debate. People believe what they want to believe & look for confirmation. This fantasy world where you can change people through more speech is absurd."
But a surprising number of others agreed with Ratajkowski:
- "Been yelling this for yrs but w/ the left monopolizing media & actually promoting censorship of conservatives it went unheard," one user said. "But get ready cuz the left is just getting warmed up. Next they'll be making lists & assigning re-education camps for those of us engaging in wrong think."
- "The president of Iran has a twitter account & the leader of the free world doesn't lol," another commenter observed.
- "Welcome to our concerns about leftist media power," another user replied.
- "I've said it before, the right cannot ever win the culture war as long as they allow the left to control the means of communication," another commenter said. "Zuckerberg, Dorsey, and Pichai are the people Patriots should be going after, then the big media, then they can tackle the political class."
- "Thank you Emily," another user wrote. "Though we may not agree on politics, we certainly believe that no one should be allowed to stop Free Speech. Thank you for taking a stand."
She's particularly concerned about the left losing its voice
Ratajkowski also tweeted an explanation for her position, noting that "my concern is that this gives big tech the opportunity to shut down 'leftist extremists' who are important political organizers."
My concern is that this gives big tech the opportunity to shut down “leftist extremists” who are important political organizers.— Emily Ratajkowski (@Emily Ratajkowski)1610045424.0
And she's suspicious about something else
She also wondered if the ease with which rioters stormed Capitol made it "wildly convenient" for big tech to institute "censorship."
Anything else?
Ratajkowski is kind of a mixed bag when it comes to left-wing politics and being a "woke" celebrity.
In October she seemed to climb aboard the gender revolution train, writing in Vogue that she and her husband "won't know the gender" of their baby "until our child is 18" and "they'll let us know then."
And while Ratajkowski publicly backed Democratic socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in 2016 and took some heat for partnering with Planned Parenthood a year earlier, in 2017 she stood up for Melania Trump after a New York Times journalist called the first lady a "hooker."