On Saturday, the wildly popular and funny @ComfortablySmug Twitter account was suspended for 12 hours after he called out fans of Ariana Grande, who famously licked a donut in 2015.
Twitter called his tweet, screenshot below, a violation of the social media company’s “rules against abusive behavior”:
?????
Twitter has locked Smug out for 12 hours!! @jack this is unacceptable!!
Ariana Grande fans are trash!
Please RT #freesmug pic.twitter.com/9gmcY7udCA— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) April 21, 2018
Keep in mind, what was tweeted was 100% accurate. She literally licked a donut as well as said, “I hate America” during the 2015 incident:
https://twitter.com/HeidiVoight/status/618762020339494912
Police even investigated:
Police and public-health officials are investigating Ariana Grande's donut-licking video http://t.co/Giif9j6c5h pic.twitter.com/I6MDaMfkbk
— TIME (@TIME) July 9, 2015
So why did Twitter feel the need to suspend Smug over this?
This is ridiculous. I understand mistakes happen, but this constant policing of speech that others don't like is ruining the platform.
The burden should be on Twitter to justify a suspension, not on the user to show its unwarranted. https://t.co/JG5Q80yROQ
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) April 21, 2018
They kept warning us about incipient fascism and I didn’t listen. I didn’t listen! https://t.co/wG7av4FLAN
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) April 21, 2018
Does Grande really need protecting from an accurate tweet?
“The most vulnerable among us need protecting, specifically Pop Stars.” – @jack https://t.co/e1lQiGaQgs
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) April 21, 2018
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This somehow rates punishment?
FFS Twitter, the #SpeechPolice mob cannot rule https://t.co/pGm0Z7THan
— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) April 21, 2018
Compare what Smug wrote to how it was covered in 2015 when Grande was called a “terrorist” over it:
Donut terrorist Ariana Grande desperately proclaims love for America http://t.co/2nEOxjFHvz pic.twitter.com/bYMDrx5N4S
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) July 17, 2015
Anyway, Smug is back and his first tweet post-suspension was a link to a photo of Grande on Instagram with the same language in his original tweet:
Just posted a photo https://t.co/49vKNyrdOZ
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) April 22, 2018
And he gave a fake shout-out to President Trump for the “kind words” and “defending” him:
A complete Witch Hunt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2018
Thank you for your kind words defending me, President Trump!! https://t.co/3valQisi5G
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) April 22, 2018
Hilarious, but Twitter really should explain how sarcasm gets you banned, especially when it’s accurate.
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