A conservative reporter and a producer were suspended from Twitter on Thursday — one for making a joke about his distaste for brussels sprouts and the other for making fun of drunk CNN host Don Lemon on New Year’s Eve.
Jeremy Boreing, executive producer of The Ben Shapiro Show, was temporarily suspended from the platform for “promoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm” because he joked that people who enjoy brussels sprouts should “burn” their “face[s] off.”
“Even better, coat with melted butter, salt, pepper, paprika, and a dash of Worcestershire, sear in cast iron in bacon grease for thirty seconds or until brown, then throw them away and burn your face off with the hot pan because even that would be better than Brussels sprouts,” Boreing tweeted Thursday.
This is legitimately the most insane Twitter suspension I have ever heard of. My business partner, @JeremyDBoreing, was just suspended for 12 hours for this tweet. Why? Because it was supposedly “promoting or encouraging self-harm.” IT’S A JOKE ABOUT BRUSSELS SPROUTS. WTF @jack pic.twitter.com/J60K5ZtxZm
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 3, 2019
Boreing’s account was restored approximately two hours after the initial suspension when he appealed the decision.
“Upon appeal, my joke about not eating leafy green vegetables was determined to be a joke about not eating leafy green vegetables. Thanks for the kindness, all. And thanks for the quick correction, @jack,” Boreing said.
From Avalon-in-the-West, I have returned.
Upon appeal, my joke about not eating leafy green vegetables was determined to be a joke about not eating leafy green vegetables. Thanks for the kindness, all. And thanks for the quick correction, @jack. Now, about that blue check mark… https://t.co/mFdJM6YOPf— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) January 3, 2019
NewsBusters staffer Nicholas Fondacaro was also locked out of his account Thursday for making fun of CNN anchor Don Lemon being drunk on New Year’s Eve.
NewsBusters claims the tweet was merely a variation on the opening sentence of an article by Fondacaro, which read, “Fresh from his drunken New Year’s Eve bender with colleague Brooke Baldwin, CNN Tonight host Don Lemon was excitedly looking forward to California Representative Nancy Pelosi becoming Speaker of the House on Thursday.”
Twitter told Fondacaro that he would be suspended for 12 hours — but the countdown would not start until he deleted the offending tweet.
Twitter said the tweet “promoted violence against, threatened, or harassed other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”
Twitter did not immediately return a request for comment.
UPDATE (3:51 pm):
Twitter restored access to Fondacaro’s account roughly 15 hours after the suspension and apologized for the incident.
In an email to Fondacaro, Twitter stated in part, “we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused” and “[a]fter reviewing your account, it looks like we have made an error.”
UPDATE 2 (4:25 pm):
Fondacaro shared the following statement with The Daily Caller:
“I’m glad Twitter finally restored my account. Although, it took longer for them to admit their mistake than the suspension would have been if I had submitted and deleted the tweet in question. Between this and the brussels sprouts, it’s clear that Twitter’s reporting system can be easily abused and manipulated. I credit the outpouring of support from conservative media for helping to get my account back.”