Actor James Woods has been locked out of his Twitter account over a tweet he sent months ago that was found to have broken the rules.
The July 20 tweet included a hoax meme that said it came from Democrats and encouraged men not to vote in the US midterm elections.
Woods got an email from Twitter on Thursday saying the tweet "has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election". The email said Woods can use his account again if he deletes the tweet.
Woods told The Associated Press on Sunday that he will only be allowed back on Twitter if does what Twitter says and accedes to the social platform's concept of free speech - not the right to free speech outlined in the Constitution. He says he won't do that, and he won't delete the tweet.
"Free speech is free speech - it's not Jack Dorsey's version of free speech," Woods said, referring to Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey.
Twitter said it doesn't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons. A spokesman for the social media platform said by email that he had nothing more to share when asked if Dorsey would respond directly to Wood's comments.
"The irony is, Twitter accused me of affecting the political process, when in fact, their banning of me is the truly egregious interference," Woods said.
"Because now, having your voice smothered is much more disturbing than having your vocal chords slit. If you want to kill my free speech, man up and slit my throat with a knife, don't smother me with a pillow."
Woods said if he did what Twitter asked and deletes the tweet, it would force him to watch his step with everything he says in the future.
He noted that his original tweet was reposted by his girlfriend on Friday and had been retweeted at least 12,000 times by Sunday.
Woods, who has more than 100 acting credits to his name and starred in several movies including "Salvador," "Ghosts of Mississippi" and "Casino," has more than 1.7 million Twitter followers.
Australian Associated Press
