Franklin, Andrews, Kramer & Edelstein

[scion]

Milo Yiannopoulos Resigns From Breitbart News

Move follows release of video in which he made remarks concerning pedophilia

By LUKAS I. ALPERT Updated Feb. 21, 2017 3:43 p.m. ET
https://www.wsj.com/articles/milo-yiannopoulos-resigns-from-breitbart-news-1487708611?mod=e2tw

Milo Yiannopoulos has resigned from the hard-right news site Breitbart News after a video surfaced in which he made remarks that appeared to condone sex between grown men and underage boys.

“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,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, a video emerged online in which Mr. Yiannopoulos said, among other things, that he didn’t consider it pedophilia if an adult has a sexual attraction to a 13-year-old who is “sexually mature.”

His comments put pressure on Breitbart to cut ties with Mr. Yiannopoulos, who was officially the site’s tech editor but had largely served as a high-profile lightning rod of attention for the news outlet because of his controversial remarks that pushed back against the notions of “political correctness.”

The remarks in the video led the American Conservative Union this week to rescind an invitation to Mr. Yiannopoulos to speak at its Conservative Political Action Conference. Then, Simon & Schuster canceled the upcoming publication of Mr. Yiannopoulos’s book, titled “Dangerous,” which was expected to be released in June.

Breitbart News has seen its star rise with Donald Trump becoming president, as the once-fringe news outlet has transformed into a media power player in Washington. The site strongly backed his candidacy and its former executive chairman, Steve Bannon, now serves as one of the president’s top advisers.

On Breitbart’s daily radio broadcast on Tuesday, its editor in chief, Alex Marlow, said Mr. Yiannopoulos’s comments were “indefensible” and “troubling.” But Mr. Marlow didn’t say how they would affect his continued role at the news site.

“He himself told me he’s never had inappropriate contact with a minor since he was an adult,” Mr. Marlow said. “It’s all very upsetting and something we take very seriously at Breitbart. We’ve been going through things and trying to figure out the best way to handle this, but the bottom line is the comments on the video are not defensible, and I think most people [agree] with that.”

After the video surfaced over the weekend, Mr. Yiannopoulos, who is gay, defended himself on Facebook, saying his remarks had been highly edited and that he had been the victim of sexual abuse growing up.

He wrote that he doesn’t believe that “sex with 13-year-olds is okay” and that his “usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humor might have come across as flippancy.”

“Anyone who suggests I turn a blind eye to illegal activity or to the abuse of minors is unequivocally wrong,” he added. “I am implacably opposed to the normalization of pedophilia and I will continue to report and speak accordingly.”

Mr. Yiannopoulos has made controversial remarks on topics including Islam and women in the past. He was banned by Twitter after a series of tweets about actress Leslie Jones that the social-media site determined were abusive.

In early February, violent protests broke out at the University of California, Berkeley ahead of a scheduled appearance by Mr. Yiannopoulos, leading to the event’s cancellation. In the past, he has had defenders on the right on free-speech grounds.

Write to Lukas I. Alpert at [e-mail]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/milo-yiannopoulos-resigns-from-breitbart-news-1487708611?mod=e2tw