In protest of problematic media attention this petition and the WoW Festival have received, I have decided to close the petition. Articles in outlets such as the Daily Mail, which have historically provided a platform for misogynistic journalism, have used the petition and the constructive criticism and suggestions within it to frame the debate as ‘women fighting other women’, and as one that is polarised (‘survivor/victim’ vs ‘feminists’). This is NOT the spirit in which this petition was set up and is a repulsive form of co-optation of the debate taking place, one that completely ignores the nuances presented in the content of the petition and many of the comments on it. This type of journalism also seeks to undermine the excellent work done by the organisers of WoW and the nature of the space it has created as one that has led to many constructive conversations and debates. While I appreciate that many people would have liked to have added their voices here, the petition has achieved what it sought to achieve at the outset: to get the organisers to reconsider their decision to platform a rapist. The organisers reached out to me promptly after the petition was published and have shown genuine attempts at engaging with this, and continue to do so (I have just had a phone conversation with Jude Kelly). Updates on the outcome of these conversations will be posted on the webpage for the event on the Southbank Centre website. Regardless of what the outcome is, we have certainly started an important conversation, both with the organisers and amongst ourselves and the communities (feminist and beyond) that we are in. I will not stand for any attempt to hijack this petition and these conversations. I hope you will understand. Solidarity.