Firebrand feminist Clementine Ford is allowed to KEEP her publicly-funded grant to write a new book despite furious backlash over her 'coronavirus isn't killing men fast enough' tweet

• e-mail

Clementine Ford has been given the green light to keep a council grant to help her write a new book after it came under review when she declared coronavirus 'isn't killing men fast enough'.

The 39-year-old posted the outrageous statement on Twitter on Saturday in response to an article written about gender disparities in parenting children during the coronavirus crisis. 

She shared the story of a woman forced to quit her job during the pandemic because her stay-at-home husband could not cope with full-time parenting - and said the woman 'deserved better'.

The initial tweet was followed up by a second comment, which read: 'Honestly, the coronavirus isn't killing men fast enough.'

Ford issued a long-winded apology on Sunday after it was made public the council grant, worth thousands of dollars, was under review in light of her comments.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Ford's post was 'deliberately divisive and incredibly unhelpful when we are trying to keep our community together during COVID-19'. 

Diehard feminist Clementine Ford has been allowed to keep a publicly-funded council grant after it was reviewed because she said coronavirus 'isn't killing men fast enough' 

But arts chair of the Melbourne City Council Rohan Leppert announced on Twitter on Monday Ford was not going to be stripped of the funding.

'The decisions to award grants have been finalised and they will not be undone,' he wrote.

'Above and beyond the politics of the day, recouping funds is not even a legally available option. Ms Ford's application met the criteria strongly. It is entirely inappropriate to retrospectively apply special criteria to one applicant.'

Councillor Leppert said the council would not become 'the arbiter of taste and offence'.

Arts chair of the Melbourne City Council Rohan Leppert (pictured) announced on Twitter that Ford was not going to be stripped of the funding

Ford shared the story of a woman forced to quit her lucrative job during the pandemic because her stay-at-home husband couldn't cope with full time parenting 

'Arts Grants are frequently controversial,' he said.

'It is incumbent on politicians to uphold the integrity of the processes that are set up, knowing that they like others will disagree with some individual outcomes.'  

Hours after it was made public her grant was under review, Ford took to Twitter with a lengthy apology saying she was 'a big enough person' to admit when she had 'misjudged something'. 

'I still stand 100 per cent behind my fury at men exploiting women's unpaid labour (exacerbated by the global pandemic), but I've reconsidered my flippancy in discussing it,' she wrote  

On Sunday Ford issued a long-winded apology about the controversial comment after a grant offered to her by Melbourne City Council was put under review (part of the apology pictured)

'Regardless of what people want to think about me, I have no wish to compound harm and grief for anyone, nor be dismissive of the very real impact and fear a crisis like this presents.

'A flippant (and yes, poorly judged) tweet doesn't change that reality and it shouldn't shift the focus away from it.

'If we benefit from privilege, we should also be robust enough to accept critique of the systems that privilege us and work to change them.'

But hundreds of people didn't buy the apology. 

'Yeah, not so fast girl. It wasn't flippant it was thirsty and banal. And it's done some serious damage,' one user tweeted.

'This woman doesn't admit fault easily... clearly she got a tap on the shoulder,' another said.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Ford's post was 'deliberately divisive and incredibly unhelpful when we are trying to keep our community together during COVID-19'

Hundreds of people slammed the apology on Twitter 

'It is amazing how hard you jumped off when you knew that 20k grant was in jeopardy. Pathetic,' one woman commented.

'Is this an attempt at some sort of apology? You can't even get that right!' another said. 

Others came to the writer's defence and thanked her admitting she'd made a blunder.

'Many who need you love your courage. They feel power and comfort from seeing you talk to men the way men talk to us,' one woman wrote. 

'That's an intentionally narrow tightrope to walk, and people who never applaud your daily performances will always be quick to yell at your corpse after a fall.'

'Thank you for your apology to those that it hurt. I just wish more people got angry about DV as much as they got angry at your tweet,' another said.  

Meanwhile, others came to the writer's defence and thanked her for the apology

Ford's initial tweet came on the back of several global studies that indicate men are dying of coronavirus at a faster rate than women.

Researchers from several esteemed hospitals in Beijing concluded men and women have the same potential to contract the disease, but men with COVID-19 are more at risk for worse outcomes and death, independent of age. 

Of 206,128 patients, researchers at the University College London found men were twice as likely to require intensive care, and 60 per cent more likely to die. 

It is not yet clear why men are more susceptible to fatal outcomes, but some health authorities have argued it is in part due to the increased likelihood of smoking and poorer hygiene habits.     

Others suggested her outspoken views on men could be potentially damaging for her own son (pictured) in the future

Ford's initial post attracted an influx of criticism by people who accused her of 'weaponising feminism,' having 'daddy issues' and being 'toxic'.

Former Senator Derryn Hinch described her opinions as 'repulsive'.

'Sometimes your Twitter views are truly repulsive. If this is a serious comment I feel sorry for you. What a way to go through life full of hatred,' he responded.

Others suggested her post - which she claimed was in jest - paved the way for equally as damaging comments.

'Clementine, is this a similar joke to: ''Honestly, the corona virus isn't killing black people fast enough'' or ''Honestly, the corona virus isn't killing disabled people fast enough'' or ''Honestly, the corona virus isn't killing health care workers fast enough''?'

Ford initially argued the backlash proved 'exactly how fragile men are.'

'The same men who insist all the time that women laugh at jokes about violence against us because 'dark humour' and 'relieving tension'. Men are pathetic,' she wrote.

'Men love to screech about snowflakes and triggered feminists and women not being able to take a joke and they crumble at the first sign of a hyperbolic tweet that doesn't place them as gods at the centre of the universe. Ding dongs, all of them.' 

The Melbourne-based author has previously spoken about being the target of graphic abuse, trolling and death threats from men on social media, and is known for her often polarising comments about men.

In 2017, she hand-signed a copy of her book 'Fight Like a Girl', with a message that read: 'Have you killed any men today? And if not, why not?' 

Ford argued the backlash proved 'exactly how fragile men are' and stood by the comments