Comedian Lee Hurst has been suspended from Twitter after he posted a joke about environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
The tweet took aim at the Swedish 18-year-old and made a number of users uncomfortable, who branded Lee “creepy”.
It read: “As soon as Greta discovers c***, she’ll stop complaining about the single use plastic it’s wrapped in.”
His account is now suspended, and Lee told Daily Star it was because of the tweet – although Twitter did not take action initially.
He said: “I’ve appealed, but heard nothing yet.
“If I’m binned permanently then I suppose I’m glad I was binned for writing a gag rather than for having a rant.
“No regrets. It got laughs.”
The joke offended many Twitter users, who shared their thoughts on their own accounts.
“Of the myriad things wrong with this creepy, misogynistic tweet (and wrong with Lee Hurst generally) there’s a heavy implication that he thinks condoms are made of plastic,” wrote one user.
(Image: Evening Gazette)
Another tweeted: “Goodbye Lee Hurst. You won’t be missed.”
A third said: “I would say that the comments Lee Hurst has made would end his career, but then I remembered he hasn’t got a career.”
Someone else commented: “Lee Hurst talking about a woman just turned 18 and suggesting that all she needs to fix her views is ‘c***’. Misogynistic and outright f***ing creepy.”
(Image: Getty Images)
And a fifth added: “Lee Hurst’s account has been suspended. Twitter just got a little funnier.”
Even Jeremy Vine got involved in the conversation, writing: “I really wish I hadn’t looked to see why Lee Hurst is trending.”
While David Baddiel said: “The reason that Lee Hurst is problematic isn’t because it carries underneath it a sense that women, as individuals, with political opinions, are erased by male sexual power. It’s problematic because it’s a s*** gag.
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“I know it’s not either/or. Perhaps a better tweet structure would have been ‘You could say it’s problematic because etc etc or you could say it’s a s*** gag.’ Always happy to workshop these things. Which perhaps is advice Lee should take.
“I think there is something abusive towards Greta Thunberg – and generally misogynistic – in that joke. I also don’t think his account should be – certainly not permanently – suspended. Two conflicting thoughts held in the mind at one time: who knew,” he added.
Speaking of the ordeal, Lee told us that at first he got an email from Twitter explaining the tweet had been reported, but they were not taking any action.
However he later received a second, informing that the Tweet broke the site’s rules against abuse and harassment, and that his account had been suspended.
He told us: “It would appear that Twitter’s rules drift with the tide.”
Lee, who used to be a panellist on sports quiz show They Think It’s All Over, caused controversy in October last year when he refused to wear a face covering in a supermarket.
Piers Morgan branded him a “selfish pr***” after his tweet about his run-in with security at the shop.
Daily Star has contacted Twitter for comment.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
