'Unplanned's' Twitter Followers Surge by Over 300K After Account Ban Lifted
The number of Twitter followers for the pro-life movie “Unplanned” has exploded to over 320,000 after a temporary ban on the account, put in place during the film’s opening weekend, was lifted.
On Monday, the followers on “Unplanned’s” Twitter account, started last August, surpassed Planned Parenthood’s, which has been active since 2011.
The Pure Flix-released “Unplanned” tells the story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who has become an influential pro-life advocate.
Despite the film facing multiple marketing obstacles — including most cable networks refusing to run ads, its unanticipated R-rating, and the temporary Twitter ban — the movie came in No. 5 at box office, taking in more than double what was expected in ticket sales during its opening weekend.
On Saturday, Twitter banned “Unplanned’s” account for a two-to-three-hour period, citing a rules violation from a related user.
Twitter quickly reversed course following a torrent of tweets demanding an explanation for the ban.
Joe Knopp, one of the film’s producers, told The Western Journal in a phone interview on Monday that they still do not know why Twitter banned their account.
Further, when it was re-established, they lost the majority of their followers and when users tried to follow, Twitter would not add them to the account, Knopp said. The movie lost 50,000 new followers this way according to a tweet from “Unplanned.”
The film’s lead actress, Ashley Bratcher, told Fox News she found it ironic she couldn’t even follow her own movie. “It keeps kicking me off,” she said.
The pro-life actress Patricia Heaton, who supports “Unplanned,” was having the same problem and said others were too.
Hey @jack – why aren’t you letting me follow @UnplannedMovie ? I’ve tried eight times to support my friend @AbbyJohnson and @Twitter won’t let me. Others are having the same issue. Please correct this. Thank you.
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) April 1, 2019
The movie’s Twitter account ultimately thanked “the people who maliciously and falsely reported Unplanned Movie to @Twitter,” because it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the number of followers skyrocketed from approximately 7,000 before the ban to over 322,000 late Tuesday morning.
Knopp said it “felt pretty special” when “Unplanned’s” Twitter account surpassed Planned Parenthood’s on Monday, as well.
Johnson touted the achievement in a Twitter post:
Look who we just passed in followers. ? #unplannedmovie pic.twitter.com/PCFY7EPp0A
— Abby Johnson (@AbbyJohnson) April 1, 2019
Knopp sees all the obstacles the movie has faced as an example of what some meant for evil, God is using for good.
“It’s to the point where my team, you know the people who made this movie, the people who are marketing it, (it’s been) a daily journey of doing what we can and, really, the results are up to God, and He is showing up in a way that we couldn’t have dreamed about.”
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