Talib Kweli Has Been Permanently Suspended From Twitter Following Alleged Harassment
Talib Kweli has reportedly been suspended from Twitter permanently after “repeated violations” of the site’s rules.
A report from Jezebel states that Kweli’s suspension, which was confirmed in a statement from Twitter, stems from his alleged harassment of a 24-year-old activist named Maya Moody, who claims the rapper continually tweeted at her, sometimes lasting up to “12 hours straight.”
“Violence, harassment and other similar types of behavior discourage people from expressing themselves, and ultimately diminish the value of global public conversation,” Twitter’s statement reads. “Our rules are to ensure all people can participate in the public conversation freely and safely.”
According to Pitchfork, Kweli’s account suspension is due to violations of the company’s rules over abusive behavior and the sharing of private information.
“The account has been permanently suspended after repeated violations of the Twitter rules,” a Twitter Spokesperson stated when reached for comment by Pitchfork. “Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation. Violence, harassment and other similar types of behavior discourage people from expressing themselves, and ultimately diminish the value of global public conversation. Our rules are to ensure all people can participate in the public conversation freely and safely.”
The interactions between Kweli and Moody began on July 9 when Moody tweeted about Black rappers marrying light-skinned women. In response, Talib repeated at her and suggested he wouldn’t stop unless she apologized or deleted her account. His anger then spilled over to Instagram where he shared Moody’s posts and discussed her comments during an hour-long IG Live video on July 21.
In a statement to Jezebel, Kweli wrote, “I’ve never cyber harassed anyone in my life. I responded, on Twitter, to the lies that Maya posted about me. When you respond to someone who posts lies about you, that is not harassment.”
