LIKE many other controversial celebs, Dr Jordan Peterson was quietly brought back on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The psychologist had previously been kicked off the platform but has since been seen on a number of shows. Here’s what we know about him.
Getty ImagesDr Jordan Peterson drew media attention in 2018 after his interview with Cathy Newman[/caption]
Who is Dr Jordan Peterson?
Jordan Bernt Peterson is a clinical psychologist, author and media personality from Alberta, Canada.
Born on June 12, 1962, he is the author of the well-known book, 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote To Chaos.
He earned two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Alberta, including one in political science and the other in psychology, before going on to complete a PhD in clinical psychology at McGill University.
After spending some time researching and teaching at Harvard, Dr Peterson returned to Canada in 1998 and took up a position as a psychology professor at the University of Toronto.
His book became well-publicized in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Germany and France.
The 12 rules according to Dr Peterson are:
Stand up with your shoulders straight
Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
Befriend people who want the best for you
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not the useless person you are today
Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
Set your house in order before you criticize the world
Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient
Tell the truth — or at least don’t lie
Assume the person you are listening to knows something you don’t
Be precise in your speech
Do not bother children while they are skateboarding
Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
Often seen as conservative, the 62-year-old actually describes himself as a classical liberal and a traditionalist.
In 2016, he criticized a bill prohibiting discrimination against gender identity and expression.
His stance against political correctness and identity politics gained widespread media attention, drawing both strong support and criticism.
Newsweek reported in January 2022, that Dr Peterson had also seemingly defended Joe Rogan after scientists penned an open letter debunking some of Rogan’s claims on the Covid-19 virus.
In a previous post on X, Peterson wrote: “Joe Rogan: King of Misinformation.
“That’s why so many people prefer him to CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS (which never lie or dissimulate) @JoeRogan Leave him alone @Spotify and censors everywhere.”
In the same year, Dr Peterson responded to director Olivia Wilde’s comments, describing him as a “pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community”.
He was reportedly left in tears by the remark, but told Piers Morgan that he thought “the marginalized were supposed to have a voice”.
He added: “Sure, why not. People have been after me for a long time because I have been speaking to disaffected young men, what a terrible thing to do that is.”
Dr Jordan Peterson interviewed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (right) during a conference in February 2025PA
Dr Peterson has since been seen on various talk shows including on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast.
He told the Dragons’ Den investor in 2024: “You’re going to have to listen to your wife at least 90 minutes a week, and you might as well just get that through your thick skull.”
When asked why men reportedly don’t like to listen, Dr Peterson responds: “Often because the insufficiencies are pointed at them.
“If you listen to her enough, you can make peace and you can play.
“Now, if you don’t listen to her, that will accumulate and you’ll listen to her in divorce court.”
As of 2023, Dr Peterson had an estimated net worth of around $10million.
Dr Peterson is back in the limelight making various appearancesGetty Images
He generates income through book sales, in-person appearances and on social media.
He has stated that he receives about CA$80,000 per month from his Patreon account, while his YouTube channel has millions of subscribers.
His shares in his clinical practice are worth $35,000 each and he gets about CA$200,000 per month as a salary for his work.
What happened to Dr Jordan Peterson on Twitter?
Outspoken Peterson had attracted several controversies on the platform formerly known as Twitter over the years.
However, his mishap in March 2023 is perhaps the most unusual.
Dr Peterson tweeted a clip of “male milking”, which he claimed was from a “s**** bank” in China.
The caption of his since-deleted tweet read: “Such fun in unbelievable techno-nightmare CCP hell”
However, the source of the clip was soon discovered not to be a Chinese government building, but a fetish studio in the UK which produces BDSM content.
His own daughter, Mikhaila, even responded saying: “Dad you can’t retweet this on Twitter. My eyes will never recover.”
On June 29, 2022, Dave Rubin, a conservative political commentator, took to Twitter to share that Dr Jordon Peterson had been reportedly suspended by the social media platform.
Rubin wrote: “The insanity continues at Twitter. @jordanbpeterson has been suspended for this tweet about Ellen Page”
“He just told me he will “never” delete the tweet. Paging @elonmusk…”
Dr Peterson has been dubbed ‘the world’s most controversial intellectual’Alamy
According to the purported screenshot, Peterson had posted, “Remember when pride was a sin? And Ellen Page just had her breasts removed by a criminal physician.”
The platform reportedly suspended the psychologist for “Violating our rules against hateful conduct”.
An account purportedly representing Peterson’s daughter, Mikhaila Peterson wrote: “Wow. @jordanbpeterson got a Twitter strike. No more Twitter until he deletes the tweet. Definitely not a free speech platform at the moment @elonmusk.”
In November 2022, the platform reinstated his account, after Elon Musk bought Twitter.
Dr Peterson thanked Musk with a photo from The Shining.
He then went on to call for anonymous accounts to be removed from the platform, arguing that “anonymous troll-demons” should be banished “to their own hell”.
His post caught the attention of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who pushed back, saying that getting rid of anonymity “would be a big mistake.”
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