Ben Shapiro talks brutal Twitter feud with Rosie O'Donnell
Conservative commentator says he's testing Twitter to see if its policies on harassment are fair and balanced.
Ben Shapiro claimed a victory over the holiday weekend in his feud with Rosie O’Donnell, after Twitter reversed itself and deleted a vulgar tweet the conservative commentator had reported.
Shapiro filed the complaint after the ex-“View” host tweeted at him, "suck my d--- Ben."
He said he reported her “mainly to see if Twitter does indeed have a double standard.”
Twitter ordered Rosie O'Donnell's tweet about Ben Shapiro to be deleted.
“Everyone knows if Rosie were conservative, Twitter would suspend her in a hot second. So, Twitter, put your money where your mouth is,” Shapiro wrote, adding the “#MeToo” hashtag.
At first, it seemed like Twitter balked.
The social media giant initially sent Shapiro its conclusion that “there was no violation of the Twitter Rules against abusive Behavior.”
Shapiro responded: “Surprise of surprises. Twitter says that @Rosie's tweets were not in fact abusive in any way under their rules. Good to know."
But in a twist, Twitter wrote back shortly afterward to say the comments actually were in violation.
“We have required that the reported Tweets be deleted and they have since been removed,” the Twitter statement said.
“Well, looks like Twitter had some second thoughts about @Rosie's obscene tweets,” Shapiro tweeted, along with an image of the Twitter statement.
The Shapiro-O’Donnell clash started during a dispute over the Republican tax bill last week.
O'Donnell originally said she would give $2 million each to GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Jeff Flake if they voted against the tax reform legislation.
Shapiro, who is also the editor in chief of the Daily Wire, responded with a series of jabs at the liberal former co-host of “The View.” One tweet cited an article he wrote for his website claiming, "Rosie O'Donnell Violates Federal Law, Offers To Bribe Republican Senators To Vote Against Tax Bill."
Another tweet called for O'Donnell to be locked up, while Shapiro also joked, "If Trump orders Sessions to investigate Rosie, he will be carved into Rushmore by Friday."
After the barrage of Shapiro posts, O'Donnell sent the profanity-laced reply.
The exchange continued, leading Shapiro to make even more claims against O'Donnell.
"You’re already a felon, Rosie. Don’t be a homophobic sexual harasser too," replied Shapiro.
After Shapiro alerted his followers that he had reported O'Donnell, she simply replied, “oh ben,” to which he answered: “All victims deserve to be believed.”
O’Donnell retweeted a number of tweets calling Shapiro a “snowflake” and accusing him of mocking victims of sexual abuse. However, she did block Shapiro on Twitter.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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