'Rather ironic' - Sean Plunket says Twitter ban 'troll attack'

April 3, 2023

Sean Plunket says he is "not a hateful person" and has appealed his permanent suspension from Twitter.

The controversial broadcaster has been permanently suspended after other users reported him for breaking its "hateful conduct" rule, according to screenshots from the social media website.

Speaking to 1News after his account was rendered inactive, Plunket stated he "suspected" he's been banned because of a "rather ironic tweet, asking if people supported the New Zealander of the Year Awards".

The former Magic Talk host said he believed his account was deactivated over a "troll attack by a group of women-hating activists" but added he "had no idea" for certain as Twitter hasn't told him which post led to his suspension.

He said: "Does Sean Plunket's Twitter account getting suspended mean the end of civilisation? I don't think so, and I'm sure I'll be back on there relatively quickly."

A poll post on Plunket's now-inaccessible Twitter profile had earlier included an option that appeared to make reference to anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull - known commonly as Posie Parker - and her Auckland rally last week.

The broadcaster has previously claimed that he believed there was "mob violence" at the event after a bottle of tomato juice was tipped on Keen-Minshull's head.

Plunket had attacked the awards for being "woke" after activist Shaneel Lal won the Young New Zealander of the Year Award.

Lal was a prominent counter-protest organiser to Keen-Minshull's arrival in New Zealand.

In a post on Facebook following his removal from the platform, Plunket said: "Just got suspended from Twitter. Another victory for free speech."

Plunket is the founder and editor of the online radio station The Platform, which proclaims itself as "New Zealand’s only independent media site".

He said his live listening audience had "doubled" in the last week following the Albert Park rally that saw thousands of counter-protesters outnumber Keen-Minshull's supporters.

Plunket founded his own media platform, The Platform, after leaving MediaWorks' former talk station Magic Talk, with suggestions that the online station would "beat the hatred and division fuelled by taxpayer-funded media and woke culture warriors".

In 2017, the broadcaster resigned from the Broadcasting Standards Authority after posting a tweet asking if "anyone else" felt for disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

SHARE ME

More Stories