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Milo Yiannopoulos Resigns From Breitbart News After Pedophilia Comments Milo Yiannopoulos Resigns From Breitbart News After Pedophilia Comments
(about 3 hours later)
Milo Yiannopoulos, the conservative polemicist whose endorsement of pedophilia instigated outrage over the weekend, resigned on Tuesday from Breitbart News, the hard-right news and opinion website where he was an editor. Milo Yiannopoulos, the conservative polemicist whose endorsement of pedophilia instigated outrage over the weekend, resigned on Tuesday from Breitbart News, the hard-right news and opinion website where he was a longtime editor.
“I would be wrong to allow my poor choice of words to detract from my colleagues’ important reporting, so today I am resigning from Breitbart, effective immediately,’’ Mr. Yiannopoulos said in an announcement. “I would be wrong to allow my poor choice of words to detract from my colleagues’ important job, which is why today I am resigning from Breitbart, effective immediately,” Mr. Yiannopoulos said at a news conference.
“This decision is mine alone,’’ he said. “This decision is mine alone,” he said.
Mr. Yiannopoulos’s resignation followed days of tumult that intensified over the weekend after a conservative group called the Reagan Battalion posted a video that showed him condoning sexual relations between men and boys as young as 13 and jokingly dismissing the gravity of pedophilia by Roman Catholic priests.Mr. Yiannopoulos’s resignation followed days of tumult that intensified over the weekend after a conservative group called the Reagan Battalion posted a video that showed him condoning sexual relations between men and boys as young as 13 and jokingly dismissing the gravity of pedophilia by Roman Catholic priests.
On Monday, the organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference revoked its invitation for Mr. Yiannopoulos to speak this week, and the publisher Simon & Schuster also said it was canceling the publication of his book, “Dangerous.” On Monday, the organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference revoked its invitation for Mr. Yiannopoulos to speak this week, and the publisher Simon & Schuster said it was canceling the publication of his book, “Dangerous.”
Mr. Yiannopoulos attempted to explain his comments in posts on his Facebook page, saying he was a victim of his own “British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humor,’’ but his explanations appeared to have little effect. Appearing in rented office space in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Mr. Yiannopoulos, in a sober suit and red tie, was both contrite and defiant. He apologized for his remarks, “I don’t think I’ve been as sorry about anything my whole life,” but also said he had been the victim of a “witch hunt” by detractors trying to derail his career.
In a statement on Tuesday, Breitbart News praised Mr. Yiannopoulos’s “bold voice,” adding — in words sure to inflame some liberals — that the provocateur “has sparked much-needed debate on important cultural topics confronting universities, the L.G.B.T.Q. community, the press, and the tech industry.” He said that he would move forward with publishing a book, saying other publishers were interested, and that he was planning to start a media venture of his own. “I’m proud to be a warrior for free speech and creative expression,” Mr. Yiannopoulos said, adding, “I’m not going anywhere.”
A spokesman for Breitbart said that the site’s management accepted Mr. Yiannopoulos’s resignation. Mr. Yiannopoulos’s announcement was met with glee in some quarters and dismay in others. Some commenters on Breitbart.com expressed disappointment that the site had severed ties with one of its marquee provocateurs, suggesting the site had given in to pressure from liberal critics.
Alex Marlow, the editor in chief of Breitbart, called Mr. Yiannopoulos’ comments about pedophilia “indefensible” and “appalling.” But Mr. Marlow, speaking on Breitbart’s daily radio show Tuesday, also defended Mr. Yiannopoulos, saying there was no evidence Mr. Yiannopoulos had acted as a sexual predator and that he had been a victim of a “coordinated hit” by liberal groups intent on hurting his ascent. But within the Breitbart newsroom, there was a sense that Mr. Yiannopoulos had gone too far in his remarks on pedophilia. Alex Marlow, Breitbart’s editor in chief, called the comments “indefensible” and “appalling” during his radio program on Tuesday morning. One staff member said that while many of his colleagues were pained to see their site under attack, they believed that Mr. Yiannopoulos’s extreme remarks had given him no choice but to leave.
In the past, Breitbart steadfastly defended Mr. Yiannopoulos even after he made provocative, critical statements about Muslims, transgender people, immigrants and women’s rights. Even on Tuesday, the site still offered a degree of support.
In a statement on Tuesday, Breitbart News praised Mr. Yiannopoulos’s “bold voice,” adding, in words sure to inflame some liberals, that the provocateur “has sparked much-needed debate on important cultural topics confronting universities, the L.G.B.T.Q. community, the press, and the tech industry.”
On his program, Mr. Marlow also defended Mr. Yiannopoulos, saying there was no evidence Mr. Yiannopoulos had acted as a sexual predator and that he had been a victim of a “coordinated hit” by liberal groups intent on hurting his ascent.
“There seems to be growing evidence that this was all coordinated to wait for a peak moment when Milo was red-hot,” Mr. Marlow said. “They sat on this story and they held it for maximum political damage.”“There seems to be growing evidence that this was all coordinated to wait for a peak moment when Milo was red-hot,” Mr. Marlow said. “They sat on this story and they held it for maximum political damage.”
This is not the first time that Mr. Yiannopoulos, a staunch defender of the so-called alt-right and an avid supporter of President Trump, has inspired outrage. His provocative, critical statements about Muslims, transgender people, immigrants and women’s rights have angered liberals and conservatives alike, and his lectures on college campuses have been met with protests that have at times turned violent. Several weeks ago, his planned speech at the University of California, Berkeley, was canceled after rioters set fires and smashed windows. (The cancellation, in turn, prompted a debate about free speech while also drawing a rebuke from Mr. Trump on Twitter.) This is not the first time that Mr. Yiannopoulos, a staunch defender of the so-called alt-right — a far-right fringe movement that embraces white nationalism and a range of racist and anti-immigrant positions — and an avid supporter of President Trump, has inspired outrage. His lectures on college campuses have been met with protests that have at times turned violent. Several weeks ago, his planned speech at the University of California, Berkeley, was canceled after rioters set fires and smashed windows. (The cancellation, in turn, prompted a debate about free speech while also drawing a rebuke from Mr. Trump on Twitter.)
But with the disclosure of the pedophilia comments, Mr. Yiannopoulos appeared to have crossed a line for even his most ardent supporters. The board of the American Conservative Union, which decided to rescind Mr. Yiannopoulos’s speaking invitation, denounced his comments on Monday, calling them “disturbing.” At Breitbart, staff members debated whether he should be allowed to remain. “It was something that was a total surprise to people in the Breitbart organization,” Mr. Marlow said on the radio program.
The board of the American Conservative Union, which decided to rescind Mr. Yiannopoulos’s speaking invitation, denounced his comments on Monday, calling them “disturbing.” At Breitbart, where Mr. Yiannopoulos had become a star contributor, there was debate among staff members about whether he should be allowed to remain. “It was something that was a total surprise to people in the Breitbart organization,” Mr. Marlow, the Breitbart editor, said on the radio program. Mr. Yiannopoulos tried to explain his comments in posts on his Facebook page, saying he was a victim of his own “British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humor,” but his explanations appeared to have little effect.