Clementine Ford apologises for tweet: 'coronavirus isn't killing men fast enough'

Clementine Ford was slammed for the tweet. Photo / Instagram

High-profile Australian feminist writer Clementine Ford has apologised after a tweet she posted over the weekend sparked a furious backlash online.

"Honestly, the coronavirus isn't killing men fast enough," Ford wrote on Twitter on Saturday, quickly sparking outrage and condemnation from media personalities and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, who called the comments "distasteful".

Ford posted the comments in response to an article from thelily.com, about women taking on extra work during the coronavirus pandemic, as they manage childcare, their households, and their own work. She has since deleted the posts.

Ford's now deleted tweet sparked outrage over the weekend. Photo / Supplied

The comments caused anger online, with male commentators taking exception to the comment and Ford's name trending on Twitter throughout the weekend.

Ford was recently awarded an arts grant through the City of Melbourne as part of a programme to support artists through the pandemic, and many began calling for her to have her funding rescinded.

Among those who criticised Ford were former senator Derryn Hinch, and media personality Peter Ford.

Take this on board: A woman who tweeted ‘Honestly, the Corona virus is not killing men fast enough’ has recently been given a ratepayer- funded literary grant by the Melbourne City Council. It must be rescinded.

— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) May 23, 2020

Worth remembering this sweet lady just got a grant from Melbourne City Council to spread her wisdom... pic.twitter.com/S3xYaN6igb

— Peter Ford (@mrpford) May 23, 2020

Ford stood firm on her comments on Saturday, responding to some of the backlash on Saturday afternoon.

LOL the replies to this show exactly how fragile men are. The same men who insist all the time that women laugh at jokes about violence against us because “dark humour” and “relieving tension”. Men are pathetic.

— Clementine Ford 🧟‍♀️ (@clementine_ford) May 23, 2020

On Saturday night the Herald Sun reported the Melbourne City Council arts grant awarded to Ford would be put under review. Lord Mayor Sally Capp criticised Ford's comments, calling them "deliberately divisive" at a time when she was trying to keep the community together through the Covid-19 crisis.

"I found these comments offensive and distasteful and I agree with the sentiment of outrage expressed by many members of our community," Capp said. She said she'd asked the council's chief executive officer to review the independent process that awarded Ford the grant.

On Sunday morning Ford apologised for the tweet in a lengthy thread, saying her comments had been "poorly judged".

THREAD: I’m a big enough person to admit when I’ve misjudged something. I still stand 100% behind my fury at men exploiting women’s unpaid labour (exacerbated by the global pandemic), but I’ve reconsidered my flippancy in discussing it. I’ve always maintained that the difference

— Clementine Ford 🧟‍♀️ (@clementine_ford) May 24, 2020

between jokes that punch up and down is the reality of harm. Eg joking about firing men into the sun has no basis in reality and therefore no potential to further harm, while “jokes” about domestic abuse are very much reflective of an extensive harm already in place.

— Clementine Ford 🧟‍♀️ (@clementine_ford) May 24, 2020

fury at that, and it’s disappointing more men aren’t outraged by this reality. But based on my own metric outlined up thread, I have to accept fault for the corona tweet because it made a flippant joke about something that IS actually a harmful reality, and one that affects

— Clementine Ford 🧟‍♀️ (@clementine_ford) May 24, 2020

But I also think it’s fair to be angry at the lack of interest in this crisis’ impact on women. To be astonished at how women are expected to perform the essential tasks that allow men to thrive, at the expense of women’s stability, while being denied recognition for that work.

— Clementine Ford 🧟‍♀️ (@clementine_ford) May 24, 2020

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website