'Hope Queen dies': Berkeley professor Grace Lavery gets Twitter ban for SICK tweet
Professor Grace Lavery, an English professor from Berkeley, tagged the UK government in a tweet hoping the "Queen dies". This is not the first time she has made the headlines. Lavery was earlier in the news for backing the burning of books. But this time her tweet against the Queen has resulted in her Twitter account being suspended.
Lavery, a transwoman and a prominent activist, entered into a virtual argument with an anti-trans advocate on Twitter. The person had accused Lavery of wanting to encourage public disorder in order to promote her memoir next month when she goes on a book tour.
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During this back and forth, Lavery also said, "I hope the queen dies." Queen Elizabeth, 95, was tested positive for COVID-19. Lavery tagged the UK government in this tweet as well and Twitter was quick to respond. They instantly suspended her account. Lavery, in an interview with DailyMail.com, said that while she does not mind people being suspended for being toxic on social media, platforms should not ban accounts that take potshots at public figures. She said, "'I wholly support social media platforms taking action against harassment. [But] I do not think they should ban people for hoping that public figures die, whether the person in question is Elizabeth Windsor, Donald Trump, or Jeremy Corbyn" referring to Corbyn who was suspended from the party in 2020 as he made some anti-Semitic comments.
Lavery also complained of having her freedom of speech supressed as her Twitter account has been banned. She said, "Bans on discussing the Queen's death additionally have the (presumably unintended) effect of suppressing speech about the line of succession. I'm not expecting any of the free speech activists to get incensed about this, of course, but their hypocrisy is nonetheless pungent."
Her institution, UC Berkeley declined to give comments on this issue but they did say that she has acted in her capacity as an individual and has the right to freedom of speech. After Lavery was suspended on Twitter, she took to her Instagram. In a sarcastic post, she further insulted the Queen of England in a video and paired it up with the Sex Pistol's 'God Save the Queen.'
In the caption, Lavery said, "omg now instagram took down my post about being banned from twitter for apparently unspeakable reasons. so let me say what everyone says about the queen. “say what you like about the monarchy, you can’t deny that she’s steered the country with a steady hand for seventy years. while political and cultural currents shifted, she remained true to her great purpose, and as such enjoys higher approval and trust ratings than any politician ever has. and every politician who has been brought into contact with her speaks warmly of her wit, intelligence, and grace—a real model of British elegance. she has been a figure with whom we can grieve, and in whom we can place our trust. she has celebrated with us, and mourned with us. she understands our pain better than any politician ever has, and deserves our respect and affection.” I certainly do *not* wish for the reintroduction of the guillotine, nor the public seizure of all lands and entitlements reserved by the Windsors; nor do I crave to appear on the front of the Daily Mail dressed in my (unmarried) mother’s bridal veil; under no circumstances would I describe the Windsors as cruel, bloodsucking molesters and sponges, each of significantly below average intelligence even for the degenerate British ruling class; and at no price could anyone compel me to declare Elizabeth Regina an impassive, thoughtless windbag, as incapable of saying anything more thoughtful than a Tory’s guff, as she is undeserving of even a legacy place in a second-rate provincial grammar school.
We love our queen. God saves. Shine on, ma’am! (rhymes with SCAM)"
A few hours ago she also shared a news post about her. This was captioned, "the all caps. i have to be careful because even talking about this on instagram risks me getting kicked off here too but lord have mercy on my wicked soul"