Conservative Ben Shapiro knocks Twitter after filing Rosie O’Donnell harassment claim

Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro knocked Twitter after filing a complaint alleging that former “The View” host Rosie O’Donnell harassed him on the platform.

The conservative personality accused Twitter of “applying their own rules inconsistently” following a heated exchange over O’Donnell’s comments toward GOP senators that Shapiro and other critics said was a violation of federal law.

O’Donnell told Shapiro to “suck my d— ben” in a tweet that she later deleted, and taunted him for looking like a “high school junior” when he accused her of sexual harassment.

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Shapiro originally slammed O’Donnell for her tweets appearing to offer a $2 million bribe to Republican Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Susan Collins (Maine) in exchange for voting against the GOP tax-reform bill that later passed the Senate and was signed into law. 

The conservative commentator announced to his followers on Friday that he had reported the incident, questioning whether Twitter has a “double standard” in how it handles claims of sexual harassment on its site. 

“Just reported @Rosie for targeted harassment, mainly to see if Twitter does indeed have a double standard,” Shapiro tweeted.

“Everyone knows if Rosie were conservative, Twitter would suspend her in a hot second. So, Twitter, put your money where your mouth is,” he said, adding the “MeToo” hashtag that numerous women have used to voice claims of sexual misconduct.

Just reported @Rosie for targeted harassment, mainly to see if Twitter does indeed have a double standard. Everyone knows if Rosie were conservative, Twitter would suspend her in a hot second. So, Twitter, put your money where your mouth is. #MeToo

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 22, 2017

Shapiro shared Twitter’s response to the complaint later on Friday, that suggested the tweets in question may have been taken out of context.

“Some tweets may seem to be abusive when viewed in isolation, but may not when viewed in the context of the larger conversation,” it said.

Surprise of surprises, Twitter says that @Rosie‘s tweets were not in fact abusive in any way under their rules. Good to know. pic.twitter.com/6tMuIWRgth

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 22, 2017 

“Surprise of surprises, Twitter says that @Rosie’s tweets were not in fact abusive in any way under their rules. Good to know,” Shapiro said. 

The goal of his complaint was not to get O’Donnell’s account suspended, Shapiro later said, but to shed light on how the popular social media platform applies its own rules to users. 

“It’s an attempt to clarify Twitter’s standards. I don’t actually want them to ban or suspend Rosie. I want them to stop applying their own rules inconsistently,” he said.

Twitter has come under fire for its recent removal of verified status from conservative and far-right media personalities, which critics say is an unfair move that shows bias toward left-leaning users.