Milo Yiannopoulos | |
---|---|
Born | Milo Hanrahan[1] 18 October 1984[1] |
Other names | Milo Andreas Wagner (occasional pen name) |
Education | The University of Manchester Wolfson College, Cambridge |
Alma mater | Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2007–present |
Movement |
Milo Yiannopoulos (/jəˈnɒpələs/;[9] né Hanrahan; born 18 October 1984)[1][10][11] is a British far-right political commentator. His speeches and writings criticise Islam, feminism, social justice, and political correctness.[12][13][14] Yiannopoulos is a former editor of Breitbart News, an American far-right news and opinion website.[15]
Yiannopoulos worked for Breitbart from 2014 to 2017. During this time, he rose to prominence as a significant voice in the Gamergate controversy. In July 2016, he was banned from Twitter for online harassment of actress Leslie Jones.[16][17] He was permanently banned from Facebook in 2019.[18][19] According to emails by Yiannopoulos leaked by BuzzFeed News in late 2017, Yiannopoulos solicited white nationalists, such as American Renaissance editor Devin Saucier, for story ideas and editing suggestions during his tenure at Breitbart.[15]
Yiannopoulos has been accused of advocating paedophilia after the emergence of several video clips in which he said that sexual relationships between 13-year-old boys and adults can be "perfectly consensual" and positive experiences for such boys.[20][21] Following the release of the video clips, Yiannopoulos resigned his position at Breitbart,[22] his invitation to speak before the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was rescinded, and a contract to publish his autobiography with Simon & Schuster was cancelled. Yiannopoulos has said that he is not a supporter of paedophilic relationships and that his statements were attempts to cope with his own victimhood, as an object of child sexual abuse by unidentified men.[23]
In 2022, Yiannopoulos served as an intern for United States Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene,[24] then worked with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West on the latter's short-lived 2024 U.S. presidential election campaign.[25] In April 2024, Yiannopoulos was listed as Chief of Staff at Yeezy Apparel, but stepped down on May 15 due to West's announcement of an adult entertainment division at the company.[26][27]
Ball 2017
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Far right
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Bernstein 2017
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Stein 2016
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Naming the Hate
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Once you understand that Yiannopoulos thinks norms against offensive speech and action are themselves a terrible form of authoritarianism, then the rest of his persona starts to make a lot more sense. He sees himself as a hybrid journalist-activist, leading a movement he calls "cultural libertarianism" to protect "free speech" from the egalitarian bullies.
America the Beautiful
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Last month, Milo Yiannopoulos, the site's tech editor, was banned from Twitter after inspiring a sustained online harassment campaign against the Saturday Night Live actor Leslie Jones.
And I think particularly in the gay world, and outside the Catholic Church – if that's where some of you want to go with this – I think in the gay world some of the most important, enriching and incredibly life-affirming, important shaping relationships very often between younger boys and older men ... They can be hugely positive experiences.
Paedophilia remarks
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Rapper Kanye West has said he intends to run for US president in 2024, despite facing several scandals over his recent behaviour.