Entertainment
Laurence Fox’s Twitter locked after actor-turned-politician enrages with ‘swastika’ image-Mel Evans-Entertainment – Metro
His account has since been reinstated.
Laurence Fox found his Twitter on the receiving end of a ban today (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Laurence Fox’s Twitter account was locked this morning after the Lewis actor-turned-London Mayor hopeful changed his profile image to one that was manipulated to resemble a ‘swastika’.
The Reclaim Party leader enraged many on Sunday evening, after he shared an image on his page of four Progress Pride flags manipulated in such a way that a swastika symbol – once an ancient religious symbol, but is now widely recognised for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and neo-Nazis – could be seen.
He had written alongside the image, which, while it is no longer his profile picture, still remains as a post on his feed: ‘I’ve updated my profile picture for the remainder of the holy month.
‘Blessed be the fruit.’
On Monday morning, Laurence’s account was locked by Twitter, with a notice stating it had violated the platform’s Media Policy.
In a statement to Metro.co.uk, a Twitter spokesperson said: ‘We took enforcement action on the account referenced for violating our rules on Abusive Profile Information and Hateful Conduct. The account owner was required to remove the violative profile image before regaining access to their account.’
Later this morning, however, Laurence’s account was back up and running, with the actor changing his profile image to the flag of China, before updating it again to be a character holding a rainbow Pride flag.
Reacting to his ban, Laurence shared the notice he’d received from Twitter, which stated it had determined the account violated its rules mentioned above.
The controversial actor and singer wrote alongside the company’s notice: ‘You can openly call the [Great Britain flag] a symbol of facism and totalitarianism on Twatter. You cannot criticise the holy flags,’ alongside emoji of the rainbow Pride flag and the Trans flag.
His move was condemned by many (Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)
As many pointed out, his profile change came just days after a gunman killed two people during the Oslo Pride festival – with Norweigan Police saying the attack was believed to be an ‘extreme Islamist terror act’ – with one responding to Laurence’s claim you ‘can’t criticise’ the Pride flags: ‘Because you edited those flags into a swastika. Not that hard to understand to be honest.’
Paul Sinha shared a scathing response to the image (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Among those sharing their disgust at the image, The Chase’s Paul Sinha shared a tweet which condemned those who enabled such things, writing: ‘On the weekend of the Oslo attack, Laurence Fox’s flag stunt on his bio feels like an epiphany for me.
‘I haven’t got time in my life to be friends with anyone who enables this s**t. You know who you are.’
Last night the account for the Campaign Against Antisemitism also slammed the image, writing: ‘Displaying pride flags in the shape of a swastika is not the edgy statement that you think it is.
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‘It is possible to express a view without the hate, and without insulting those murdered by the Nazis, which included Jews and LGBT people.’
Metro.co.uk contacted reps of Laurence Fox for comment.
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