Ex-Tripwire CEO has declared that “social terrorism” led to him losing his job last year. In an interview with Fox News, John Gibson said that he was effectively pressured into stepping down by a wave of negative public sentiment, and that this “social terrorism” causes people to either “hide or pretend that they’re not what they are”.
The interview took place on Fox’s Tucker Carlson Tonight show. It sees Gibson discussing his departure from Tripwire with Carlson, who suggests that the “social terrorism” described by Gibson is akin to “eighth-century Islam”, where Carlson says people had to “convert or be beheaded”.
If you’re wondering what started all this, Gibson left his position as Tripwire’s CEO back in September last year after expressing support for then-new Texas abortion laws banning abortion in babies with detectable heartbeats. Gibson tweeted his support of the laws, leading to a firestorm of controversy that eventually culminated in his resignation as CEO.
Although Gibson is now saying he was effectively forced out of his position, he says there was “one lady” who was “fairly senior” and who supported Gibson, or at least opposed what was happening to him. Gibson says this person “had to deal with a lot of fallout”, and suggests that this is “social terrorism” in action, insofar as her job was allegedly made harder by those who disagreed with Gibson’s politics.
According to Gibson (whose interview was first spotted by PC Gamer), another owner of Tripwire aligned with his political views, but this person said he didn’t “want to be canceled next”. He says he was “crushed” by having to leave Tripwire, and that he told his wife he didn’t “want to live in a world that’s this unjust”.
Abortion has recently become a hot button issue again after the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to ban abortion if they chose to. In response to that decision, Cards Against Humanity decided to sell special packs supporting abortion in 22 different states. In addition, an abortion charity created a game named Abortion Bus with the aim of showing just how far women in Texas may need to travel if they want to get an abortion.
It’s worth saying that Gibson appears to have changed his tune when it comes to describing his departure. Earlier this month, Gibson said he “never got booted” and stepped down from the company voluntarily, but in the interview with Carlson, he suggests that leaving as CEO “destroyed” him and that it was involuntary. Which account is accurate? We may have to wait for the full Tucker Carlson interview to be released next week in order to find out.
