Book pubisher Simon & Schuster has cancelled "Dangerous", the upcoming autobiography of right-wing pundit milo yiannopoulos, amid controversy following the exposure of remarks he made in regards to child abuse. Simon & Schuster issued a statement in regards to the cancellation of the publication, which Yiannopoulos also confirmed via a posting on social media. The book was originally scheduled to be released on June 13, 2017.
Yiannopoulos amid scandal over child abuse comments
Simon & Schuster made the decision to cancel the upcoming release following a torrent of controversy that began following the airing of comments Milo made in regards to child sexual abuse.
Yiannopoulos claimed to himself be a victim of childhood sexual abuse by an adult man, and stated he believed that relationships between adults and thirteen year-old children could occasionally be considered 'consensual'.
A video of Yiannopoulos making the statements was shared by conservative Twitter page Reagan Battalion, following an earlier controversy over an invitation Milo received to speak at the upcoming annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), from which he has been subsequently dis-invited. Despite the cancellation of the book, Milo reportedly received an advance for the book of two-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars. "Dangerous" was to be published under Simon & Schuster's conservative imprint, Threshold Editions.
Comments regarding sexual abuse latest in long line of controversy for Yiannopoulos
In addition to the loss of his Book Deal and invitation to CPAC, Milo has also resigned from his editorship of the right-wing Breitbart News, following threats from several employees to resign due to Yiannopoulos' actions. This is the latest in a long line of controversies for the writer, who rose to prominence for his coverage of the Gamergate scandal.
Yiannopoulos has been a harsh and vulgar critic feminism, Islamic theology, political correctness, and left-wing politics, often making racist and sexist commentary in his criticism. He was permanently banned from Twitter in 2016 following his campaign of online harassment against actress Leslie Jones. He also ignited controversy when a speech he was scheduled to make at UC Berkeley drew violent protests.