UPDATE: Facebook told Global News it has restored Shores’ account and reached out to apologize.
TORONTO — Director and playwright Del Shores is publicly challenging Facebook for suspending his account for 30 days after he posted a message about equal marriage.
Shores, best known for the play-turned-series Sordid Lives, said Thursday he has contacted Facebook three times but has received no explanation.
In an open letter to Facebook, Shores asked: “Please tell me what in my post that you removed … does not ‘follow Facebook Community Standards.'”
The post in question celebrated equal marriage rights in Pennsylvania and referred back to an episode of the made-in-Toronto Queer As Folk — of which Shores was a writer and producer.
BELOW: The post by Del Shores that was removed by Facebook.
Shores said he suspects religious bigots reported him to Facebook, causing the company to suspend his account.
“The particular offending post was attacked by a few religious bigots, one who railed on the gay community by quoting scripture after scripture,” he explained. “Many fans commented back, and I ultimately banned and blocked him, deleting his hateful comments in the name of the Lord. But apparently not before he and his trolls reported my page.”
Shores said he suspects no one at Facebook actually reads posts that are reported.
“I cannot believe that Facebook is homophobic. Otherwise, many of us would be gone long ago,” he said.
“This suspension is simply wrong! Please do the right thing!”
Early Friday, Shores said he is still able to post messages on Facebook through one of his administrators’ pages but “Facebook has yet to respond to this ridiculous suspension or lift it. This is just so absurd.”
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