Popular rental service Airbnb claims it made a “mistake” in banning conservative YouTuber Lauren Southern’s parents from using its service. The company reversed the ban after Southern and many other conservatives slammed notoriously woke Airbnb on social media.
Southern shared a screenshot of the message her parents received from Airbnb, which informed them that they were banned from using the company’s services due to being “closely associated” with “a person who isn’t allowed to use Airbnb.”
Brian Chesky CEO of Airbnb ( Justin Sullivan/Getty)
My parents just got banned from AirBnB for being related to me.
They have never booked anything for me. They do not represent me in any way. They aren’t publicly political in any way.
How is this sane in any way @Airbnb pic.twitter.com/SOF01xkJFS
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) February 7, 2023
“We have an update to share. We’ve removed you from the Airbnb platform because your account is closely associated with a person who isn’t allowed to use Airbnb,” the company said in its message to Southern’s parents. “This means you’ll no longer be able to book reservations on Airbnb.”
Airbnb went on to say that it made this decision “for the safety of our community,” adding, “We don’t take these decisions lightly.”
Popular YouTube personality Lauren Southern (Facebook/Lauren Southern)
In her tweet, Southern said her parents were “banned from AirBnB for being related to me,” adding that “they have never booked anything for me. They do not represent me in any way. They aren’t publicly political in any way.”
Southern’s tweet has since garnered 10.5 million views.
In a follow-up tweet, the conservative YouTuber declared, “My parents are some of the sweetest people I know. They were just planning a romantic getaway, they aren’t political activists.”
“All I’ve learned is that if governments and corporations can’t shut you up by harming you, they’ll now go for your families,” she added.
My parents are some of the sweetest people I know. They were just planning a romantic getaway, they aren’t political activists. 🙁
All I’ve learned is that if governments and corporations can’t shut you up by harming you, they’ll now go for your families.
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) February 7, 2023
After receiving a slew of attention on Twitter, Tucker Carlson Tonight producer Gregg Re asked Airbnb for answers, to which the company replied by claiming it had made a “mistake.”
“@Airbnb tells me it was a ‘mistake’ to ban Lauren’s family members. Decision ‘reversed,’” Re announced.
“They say Lauren is still banned, although the spokesman did not explain why. He says that’s forthcoming in an email. Also he denied Jay Carney is targeting political dissidents,” Re added.
Update: @Airbnb tells me it was a “mistake” to ban Lauren’s family members. Decision “reversed.” They say Lauren is still banned, although the spokesman did not explain why. He says that’s forthcoming in an email. Also he denied Jay Carney is targeting political dissidents.
— Gregg Re (@gregg_re) February 8, 2023
Southern, however, insists that Airbnb is “trying to make this look like a mistake due to bad PR.”
“They just miscalculated how far they could go,” she added.
Southern also shared a screenshot of a message her parents received from Airbnb, which stated, in part, “We reviewed your appeal and made the decision to restore your account.”
“My parents never appealed the decision,” Southern stated.
My parents never appealed the decision. They’re trying to make this look like a mistake due to bad PR. It was not. They just miscalculated how far they could go.
How about the truth for a change? pic.twitter.com/P9Zyos64Ds
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) February 8, 2023
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.