Not everyone in show business hates President Trump so much that they can’t see the nefarious motives behind banning him from social media. 
Hip hop singer/songwriter Keri Hilson braved the unhinged social media mobs by claiming that Twitter and other social media accounts banning Trump from their platforms in the wake of January Capitol riots was the wrong move. While clarifying that she was no fan of the president, Hilson explained that tech giants’ actions threatened the free speech of every American.
Over the weekend, the “Pretty Girl Rock” singer posted a photo of Trump’s suspended Twitter account to her Instagram and called the social media publisher’s decision to remove the president “dangerous” for all Americans. In a caption on her viral post she claimed, “This may be funny, but it is a little dangerous too. Take Trump out of it for a moment … A Democracy must include freedom of speech.”
Despite the tragedy of the January 6 Capitol riot, which resulted in the deaths of the five people, including police officers and one pro-Trump woman, leftists and Democrats clearly seized upon the opportunity to blame Trump for the destruction, claiming that his supporters were egged on by his “false” claims of election fraud. Big Tech companies silenced the president in an apparent attempt to prevent more violence.
The hamfisted actions of Twitter CEO Dorsey and the tech bros weren’t lost on Hilson, who wondered if this was more of a power grab than maintaining safety. She wondered aloud, “Imagine other leaders or popular figures not being able to voice their own opinion if it opposes the majority of world leaders.” Of course that’s a pretty salient point. Twitter often takes its fact-checking cues from mainstream media sources who have been shown to be biased towards left-leaning groups and political factions.
Hilson characterized Trump’s censorship as part of “our freedom of speech being taken away from us, slowly but surely (censorship.)”
Hilson continued her assertion, stating, “If the leader of the ‘free world’ can be removed, imagine that same right of civilians.” Of course Twitter is accused of purging many pro-Trump accounts accounts from its site since the riot, which has also encouraged Amazon to remove Parler, a Twitter alternative popular with right wingers, from its servers. Regardless of their intentions, it’s clear that free speech is being stifled
The singer received some pushback from followers who saw her defense of Trump and missed the point. In a subsequent post, she clarified that she wasn’t “clapping for Trump,” and claimed she recognized “why he was removed,” but she added that the way in which it was done was “scary to me.”
Hilson mentioned her larger fears of censorship exist because she has seen some of her more “influential friends” who have been “censored, silenced, shadow-banned, or removed” for posting stuff against “the gov’t” or “elite agenda.” The singer added that these friends had never “incited violence.”
