Milo Yiannopoulos: Breitbart Job, Book Deal In Jeopardy Over Pedophilia Remarks?
Milo Yiannopolous is a controversial figure who has made a career out of insulting and degrading others. Now, the tables have turned and Milo is facing consequences after a video surfaced where Yiannopolous made light of adults having sexual relations with underage children, as reported previously by the Inquisitr.
According to Time, the first bit of blowback came early Monday when the American Conservative Union (ACU) rescinded its offer for Milo Yiannopulous to speak at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference. CPAC is one of the largest conservative events of the year, and to be invited is a major honor for any right-wing figure in the United States. However, this could turn out to be a minor setback compared to other potential repercussions Milo might be facing.
Elaina Plott, a writer for Washingtonian, earlier today tweeted that a number of Breitbart employees are threatening to quit if Milo Yiannopolous is not fired from his job as technology editor of the conservative media outlet.
Fox Business Network’s Charles Gasparino posted a similar tweet.
#BreakingNews @BreitbartNews considering dismissal of Milo Yiannopoulos over remarks that sparked outrage no comment yet from milo
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 20, 2017
According to USA Today, Milo Yiannopolous received a $250,000 advance from Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of publishing house Simon & Schuster for a book set to be released in June, Dangerous. The moment the book was announced, controversy erupted with calls for boycotts against Simon & Schuster over comments Yiannopolous has made about transgender people, Muslims, and women/feminists. Feminist author Roxane Gay pulled her book from Simon & Schuster in protest of the Yiannopolous deal. In response to concerns being raised, Simon & Schuster president Carolyn Reidy sent a letter to the company’s authors stating she “wants to make clear that we do not support or condone, nor will we publish, hate speech.”
With this latest controversy over Yiannopolous, it’s possible that the risk of publishing the book will not outweigh the financial rewards Simon & Schuster stands to gain, and there’s a world of difference between seeming to stand behind controversial or even hateful speech and appearing to stand behind speech defending sexual crimes against children. Simon & Schuster have not yet released an official comment regarding the controversy.
(Edit: Immediately after publishing this story, Yiannopolous’s book was canceled, according to Independent.)
In his defense, Milo Yiannopolous took to Facebook to try and clarify what he intended by his remarks, according to Boston Globe.
“I do not support pedophilia. Period,” Yiannopolous wrote. “It is a vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst. There are selectively edited videos doing the rounds, as part of a coordinated effort to discredit me from establishment Republicans, that suggest I am soft on the subject. If it somehow comes across (through my own sloppy phrasing or through deceptive editing) that I meant any of the ugly things alleged, let me set the record straight: I am completely disgusted by the abuse of children.”
Milo Yiannopolous has built a career around saying controversial things. This could be the first time that his remarks come with serious consequences. Some might say it would be a form of poetic justice if someone who has built his career on insulting, offending, and tearing down the character of others should have that career basically destroyed by his own words, whether they’re being misinterpreted or not.
Milo would certainly not be the first conservative figure whose controversial words came back to haunt them. In 2013, celebrity chef Paul Dean lost a book deal with Ballantine after she was forced to admit to using racial slurs in her past. Whether Milo Yiannopolous will suffer similar consequences could be known in the very near future.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
