Tweet to Dragons winger Ashton Hewitt the reason for Katie Hopkins' Twitter ban

Dragons winger Ashton Hewitt has revealed that he was the reason why outspoken columnist Katie Hopkins was permanently removed from Twitter recently. The controversial commentator, who had 1.1 million followers, made headlines last week after receiving the ban. 

25-year-old Dragons player Ashton shared a Tweet on Tuesday, saying: “Didn’t realise I was actually the reason for Katie Hopkins getting suspended from Twitter.”

Didn’t realise I was actually the reason for Katie Hopkins getting suspended from Twitter ??

— Ashton Hewitt (@ashton_hewitt) June 23, 2020

It has since been revealed by Hopkins that she was banned by the social media platform for a comment she made on a post by Hewitt about her. In response, a statement from Twitter said:

Ashton Hewitt took on Leicester’s Ellie Genge in the recent RugbyPass Fifa football tournament

Ashton Hewitt took on Leicester’s Ellie Genge in the recent RugbyPass Fifa football tournament

“Keeping Twitter safe is a top priority for us – abuse and hateful conduct have no place on our service and we will continue to take action when our rules are broken. In this case, the account has been permanently suspended for violations of our hateful conduct policy.”

The Tweet in question is this one by the winger: 

Katie Hopkins is fucking toxic.

— Ashton Hewitt (@ashton_hewitt) June 16, 2020

Hewitt then shared the comment that Hopkins made: 

This bitch is crazy – and her fans even more so. pic.twitter.com/07JASEMfGj

— Ashton Hewitt (@ashton_hewitt) June 16, 2020

The son of a Welsh mother and a British Jamaican father, Hewitt has been vocal on social media during the Black Lives Matter movement – although he had not directly clashed with Hopkins before. Hopkins also shared a video to explain her comment, saying it was “a script reference from Blackadder”. 

Hewitt told the BBC Scrum V podcast earlier this month he is not prepared to put up with racism anymore. “I have, and I am sure many young players from ethnic backgrounds have, put up with what is seen as banter and seen it as nothing,” he said.

“I have been through that in my career. As I delve through deeper issues in history and what comes behind certain stereotypes, I see the importance of addressing it and not letting those stereotypes continue. I have been guilty of letting things slide, but at the time I did not think too much of it.

“When I was younger I did not feel I had the confidence to cause an upset in a predominantly white environment. Since I have got older and more educated on the history of racism, I have taken a view it can’t be acceptable.”