An Australian academic claims he was sacked from his high-paying job over a tweet response to eco-activist Greta Thunberg and controversial influencer Andrew Tate.
Professor Andrew Timming alleges he was let go by RMIT University just before Christmas this year following 12 months of ‘bullying’ since his original tweet in December 2022.
Prof. Timming, who specialised in Human Resource Management, has lodged an appeal with the Fair Work Commission and has accused the university of stifling free speech and having an inherent left-wing bias.
The tweet Professor Timming made was in response to a short, viral interaction on the social media platform between Tate and Thunberg.
Tate shared a picture of himself in front on his Bugatti, told Thunberg he had 33 cars and asked for her email address so he could send her a detailed list of their ‘enormous emissions’.
Thunberg gave the sarcastic reply: ‘Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld**kenergy@getalife.com’.
Professor Timming then chimed in, pointing out what he believed was a sexist double standard.
‘Demeaning sexual jokes when directed from a woman to a man,’ he wrote followed by the smiley face and wink face emojis.
‘Demeaning sexual jokes when directed from a man to a woman,’ he then wrote, followed by the bomb and skull-and-crossbones emojis.
Professor Andrew Timming is fighting his dismissal from RMIT University with the Fair Work Commission
He claims this single tweet was the cause of backlash with senior university staff
Professor Timming claims his tweet angered RMIT management and he was reprimanded and threatened with disciplinary action.
The backlash prompted him to lodge a complaint in May 2023 that the university’s academic freedom policy was not being upheld.
He claims that triggered ‘vicious bullying’.
Prof. Timming eventually brought the dispute to the Fair Work Commission after which the university placed him on extended leave on health grounds.
He then consulted an independent doctor appointed by the university who gave him clearance to return to work.
Professor Timming’s tweet was in response to a post from climate activist Greta Thunberg
Thunberg had replied to this tweet from Andrew Tate telling him to email her at smalld***energy@getalife.com
However, upon his return, Professor Timming claims RMIT loaded him up with additional work and teaching duties and the bullying continued.
He then disputed the extra duties under RMIT’s enterprise bargaining agreement with the Fair Work Commission.
This prompted the university to call him into a meeting three days before Christmas to tell him he was dismissed for ‘misconduct’ over his refusal to do the work.
Prof Timming, who describes himself as an ‘out-of-the-closet conservative’, has now launched a petition calling on RMIT’s vice chancellor, Professor Alec Cameron, to reinstate him.
The academic has a PhD from Cambridge University in the UK where he also worked.
He has also held academic positions at the University of Manchester, University of St Andrews, and University of Western Australia.
The original December 2022 tweet exchange between Tate and Thunberg was made a week before Tate was arrested in Romania over alleged rape and human trafficking offences.
That court case is pending with an appeal by Tate to leave Romania for three days to visit his family in Britain knocked back earlier this week.
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been charged with criminal offences in Romania
In a statement via the ‘Free Speech Union Australia’. Professor Timming claimed that universities are not upholding freedom of speech and workplace rights, such as that of being able to make a complaint.
‘No professor or student should suffer adverse action over protected speech,’ he said.
‘When academics and students are afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation, there’s really no point in a university.
‘The purpose of higher education should be to encourage debate and disagreement.’
‘We cannot sacrifice speech on the altar of politeness. Academics have a right to be shocking and offensive.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted RMIT for comment.
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