“I would rather die than do that”: Jordan Peterson refuses to delete hateful Elliot Page-tweet despite backlash

Psychologist Jordan Peterson recently came under fire for sharing a controversial tweet about actor Elliot Page's gender identity and transition.

The tweet was immediately flagged on Twitter for "hateful conduct" and led to the suspension of Peterson's account. The psychologist was asked to delete his tweet in order to remove his suspension as part of the platform's policy.

However, he refused to delete the tweet and appeared on a podcast for the Daily Wire, saying he would rather "die" than comply with the request:

“I have essentially been banned from Twitter as a consequence. I say banned, although technically I have been suspended. But the suspension will not be lifted unless I delete the “hateful” tweet in question, and I would rather die than do that.”

In a now-removed tweet, Peterson misgendered Page and mocked his identity following the premiere of the third season of the latter's show The Umbrella Academy, which featured his character Viktor coming out as trans. The psychologist wrote:

“Remember when Pride was a sin? And Ellen Page just had her b*easts removed by a criminal physician.”

The tweet sparked immediate outrage on social media and led to Peterson's Twitter account getting banned from the platform. Despite the criticism, the psychologist has continued to maintain his stance.

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Twitter condemns Jordan Peterson’s response to backlash for remarks against Elliot Page

Jordan Peterson's comments on Elliot Page continue to spark outrage online (Image via Getty Images)

In the wake of his controversial tweet about Elliot Page, Jordan Peterson garnered further criticism for refusing to remove his remarks from Twitter. In a new statement, the psychologist said that he would “rather die” than delete his tweet about Page to remove the ban from his Twitter account.

Following his statement, several social media users took to Twitter to further call out Peterson for his actions:

Despite the ongoing outrage, Jordan Peterson continued to defend his opinion in his Daily Wire column. He questioned Twitter’s policy of violation and said that he did not “promote violence” or “threatened” anyone with his comments.

Peterson further mentioned that even if he committed the “lesser sin of ‘harass’” and “harassment on the basis of ‘gender identity,'” Twitter did not specify his crime:

“That’s actually a big problem in and of itself, and also indicative of the utter carelessness of the Twitter organization with regard to the propriety of its own censorial actions. I should at least know exactly what I did wrong if I am required to ‘acknowledge that’ my ‘Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.’”

The Edmonton-native continued to defend his statement against Elliot Page and concluded that he would not remove the tweet from the microblogging site:

“I’m not taking down that tweet, or ‘acknowledging’ that my tweet ‘violated the Twitter rules.’ Up yours, woke moralists. We’ll see who cancels who."

He further called out "woke folks at Twitter" and warned them that the things they were engaged with were more troubling than they had fathomed:

"And I think, as well, that you woke folks at Twitter, working so hard to improve the world by so carelessly censoring (under the morally superior guise of “regulating hate”) have no idea what a tangled web you’ve entangled yourself in. Again. Yet again.”

Jordan Peterson echoed a similar statement while speaking to the National Post about the controversy shortly after his tweet:

“I penned an irritated tweet in response to one of the latest happenings on the increasingly heated culture war front. There are no rules on Twitter except don't do what we don't like today. They are always applied post hoc by algorithms and idiots bent on maintaining their woke superiority.”

Prior to the controversy surrounding Page, Peterson landed in hot waters for telling Joe Rogan that individuals identify as transgender as a result of a “contagion” and that the process of transition is similar to “satanic ritual abuse.”

Last month, the psychologist temporarily left Twitter after receiving a backlash for calling singer and plus-size model Yumi Nu’s Sports Illustrated cover “not beautiful.”

As criticism surrounding Jordan Peterson’s comment on Elliot Page continues to pour in online, it remains to be seen if the latter will address the situation and respond to Peterson in the days to come.