Dallas, TX
Why was Dallas chef John Tesar suspended on Twitter?
Dallas chef John Tesar has been Tweeting under the curious name @truth24471632 since April 2022. Why? He was suspended from his main account, @chefjohntesar, for threatening conservative TV character Sean Hannity.
“It was a mistake,” says Tesar, a several-time Prime Chef contestant whose Orlando restaurant Knife & Spoon simply received a Michelin star. “Semantically, it was a mistake,” he clarifies.
Representatives from Twitter is not going to verify the content of Tesar’s October 2021 tweet, which was written in response to a COVID-19 vaccine-related tweet initially posted by Hannity. Tesar’s account was suspended for 9 months till he manually deleted the tweet on July 4, 2022. The suspension was first reported by D’s critic.
Right here’s how Tesar summarized the incident:
“[Hannity] despatched an anti-vax tweet,” Tesar remembers. “So I mentioned, ‘Should you really feel that means about vaccinations, I hope you get the mumps, the measles and the clap.’ I didn’t understand if you want one thing upon anyone, it’s thought-about a menace.”
However it’s. A Twitter spokesman says the tweet violated Twitter’s rules on abusive behavior.
Tesar says his tweet was supposed to face up for vaccines. He believes it’s harmful for TV personalities and politicians to steer the general public away from COVID-19 vaccinations throughout a public-health disaster.
“I’ve to shout it out,” the chef says.
A historical past of Twitter rants
That is the second time Tesar has been disciplined for violating Twitter’s guidelines. Earlier than the Hannity incident, Tesar was suspended for 10 days for tweeting at Rudy Giuliani, former New York Metropolis mayor and a former member of Donald Trump’s private authorized group.
Tesar doesn’t bear in mind the small print of the tweet; he believes Giuliani was repping Trump by saying the presidential election was stolen. And why can’t Tesar bear in mind such an necessary dialog? Tesar argues with politicians on Twitter virtually consistently. His @chefjohntesar account contains greater than 15,000 tweets. Look at Tesar’s “tweets & replies” tab for his new account, and there’s a day by day standoff between the Dallas chef and conservative politicians.
“I’m simply bored with being lied to by each politician,” the 64-year-old says. “At my age, I take it very critically. I believe Twitter is a good place to launch your frustrations so long as you don’t make it private.”
That’s been Tesar’s bother.
Tesar was as soon as known as “essentially the most hated chef in Dallas” by D, a title that also haunts him. He spewed cuss phrases at a former Dallas Morning Information restaurant critic as a result of he disagreed together with her evaluate. For years, he was a “rageholic,” he mentioned in a 2017 interview.
Some 5 years in the past, he claimed to have modified his methods, saying he began meditating, going to remedy and smoking weed to chill out. Twitter-as-therapy is one other means the chef clears his head, he says. Practically on daily basis, Tesar scans tweets from Congressman Jim Jordan, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Senator Ted Cruz, Hannity and others, then responds to them when he disagrees.
“Once I name somebody out for mendacity in politics, I really feel higher about it,” he says. “I do it within the privateness of my own residence. I get it out of my head. I really feel higher. And I am going on with my day.”
A case for Tesar?
The Dallas chef says he “discovered his lesson” after his Twitter account was placed on pause and he misplaced the power to achieve his 6,000 or so followers.
Tesar’s Florida restaurant simply received a Michelin star, and Dallas diners have been buzzing about whether or not Texas will be capable of appeal to Michelin subsequent. Tesar worries that vacationers will keep away from Texas due to its picture as a crimson state led by headline-making conservatives like Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott, he says.
Tesar says he’s neither Republican nor Democrat. He calls himself a Libertarian.
“I fear about my political feedback affecting individuals wanting to return to dinner,” he says.
“However I believe the steak is just too good for individuals to care.”