Laurence Fox (Ian West/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)Laurence Fox was hit with a temporary Twitter ban over the weekend after posting a picture of a swastika made out of four LGBTQ+ Pride flags.
The controversial activist, 44, sparked a huge social media furore after posting the image on Sunday evening.
“Oh blessed and most holy month!,” he captioned the image which was met with a flood of criticism from users.
Oh blessed and most holy month! pic.twitter.com/v3tQfsVFgv
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) June 26, 2022
The social media giant then locked his account for violating its rules on posting “hateful imagery”.
After his access was restored on Monday, the former actor complained to his followers that the Pride flag has become a “holy flag” that “cannot be criticised”.
The Holocaust Memorial Trust and the Campaign Against Antisemitism were among the organisations who condemned him for sharing the “abhorrent” image.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust wrote: “We are appalled to see Laurence Fox’s vile tweet this morning with abhorrent use of swastika.
Displaying pride flags in the shape of a swastika is not the edgy statement that you think it is.
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) June 26, 2022
It is possible to express a view without the hate, and without insulting those murdered by the Nazis, which included Jews and LGBT people. https://t.co/YiFaUwJkzG
“Gay men experienced untold suffering under the Nazis, including murder, castration, medical experimentation.
“Ignorance of this history can only exacerbate present-day discrimination faced by #LGBTQ+ people.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism told Fox that his image “is not the edgy statement that you think it is.”
“It is possible to express a view without the hate, and without insulting those murdered by the Nazis, which included Jews and LGBT people,” they added.
A Twitter spokesperson said: "We took enforcement action on the account referenced for violating our rules on Abusive Profile Information and Hateful Conduct. The account owner was required to remove the violative profile image before regaining access to their account."
