Rapper Talib Kweli was kicked off Twitter for “repeated violations” of the social media site’s harassment rules.
A spox for the social media site told Jezebel magazine that they permanently banned the 44-year-old Brooklyn native for “repeated violations of the Twitter rules (such as) violence, harassment and other similar types of behavior (that) discourage people from expressing themselves”.
The ban, which took effect in late July, comes amid allegations that he and his fans harassed a Twitter user named Maya A. Moody after she accused Black rappers of colorism.
After Moody tweeted, “What rapper married a black woman besides snoop? literally almost all [rappers] are married to light-skinned women but that’s a conversation for another day,” Kweli replied, “Nah let’s have this convo today… I mean, is any of this really any of your business?”
Moody, 24, claims that for two weeks she was overwhelmed with harassing posts by the rapper and his fans on both Twitter and Instagram.
According to Moody, the posts included personal details, such as pictures of her parents, as well as threats of violence and sexual abuse.
Moody took screenshots of the harassment and was in “constant contact” with Twitter, but she complained that the social media platform took too long to take action. She said other users had “been suspended for way less than targeting someone and harassing them constantly for over two weeks straight”.
Kweli, who has a reputation for being an internet troll, responded to the claims in an email to Jezebel, in which he stated: “I’ve never cyber-harassed anyone in my life. I responded, on Twitter, to the lies that Maya posted about me. When you respond to someone who posts lies about you, that is not harassment.”
Kweli has been married to DJ EQ since 2009. He complained that Moody tagged his wife in her tweets.
The rapper is a well-respected veteran in the music industry for the past 20 years, and is best known for being one half of rap duo Black Star alongside Mos Def.
I spoke with Maya Moody, a black woman who was pestered by Kweli for nearly two weeks until Twitter finally suspended Kweli’s account. He then took grudge against Moody to Instagram. Moody says she wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of this treatment https://t.co/5jTL0RiMQ9
— Ashley Reese (@offbeatorbit) August 4, 2020
Between seeing the men silent on Talib Kweli attacking Maya for WEEKS, silent on Megan being shot INTENTIONALLY, and now seeing none of those men budge to defend Tahiry…. I hope you all see what we mean by black women not being protected.
— wrong answer, forehead! (@JESSrelax_) July 30, 2020
Talib Kweli and Maya Moody ATTACKING EACH OTHER has nothing to do with Meg The Stallion getting shot. Why do some of us do that? Just lump things together to make one thing seem way worse than it is. I give up on Black and Brown Unity.. It'll NEVER happen. Know who's happy??
— Corey Allen (@CAllen4047) August 5, 2020
There will NEVER be unity amongst Black and Brown people because bod shit like this. Maya Moody attacked light skinned Black women her damn self and now gets sympathy for so called being attacked?? Man it's way more fucked up then some people know.
— Corey Allen (@CAllen4047) August 5, 2020
@Twitter y’all some hoes. if u suspended talib Kweli’s page your have to suspend maya moody page also. She can’t be talking about ppls wife’s and think she’s safe
— Cloudz_Of_Loud (@BlowinYaBackOut) August 5, 2020
