Over the last 48 hours, milo yiannopoulos has faced heavy backlash after an old interview resurfaced where he appears to defend pedophilia. As the pressure mounted, the controversial British journalist was forced to resign from his job as senior editor of Breitbart News.
Milo backlash
For more than a year, Milo Yiannopoulos has become a popular name on the internet. The outspoken Breitbart News editor has voiced his support for Donald Trump, referring to the president as "daddy." Yiannopoulos has spent the last year touring American college campuses where he often argues with liberal students for being too politically correct.
Last month, Yiannopoulos' speech at UC Berkeley was cancelled after protests turned into riots, which quickly vaulted him into the national spotlight and all over cable news. Just over a week ago, Milo was a guest on "Real Time with Bill Maher," and got into a near shouting match with guest Larry Wilmore. However, after a video resurfaced of Yiannopoulos speaking about pedophilia during an interview with Joe Rogan, the opposition grew to the point that he has now lost his job. As reported by The Hill on February 21, Milo is out at Breitbart.
JUST IN: Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart News after backlash over his remarks about pedophilia https://t.co/Jme6mZqNJg pic.twitter.com/rVAiZcSjQV
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2017
In a statement released on Tuesday, Milo Yiannopoulos officially announced his resignation.
“Breitbart News has stood by me when others caved," he wrote. "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," Yiannopoulos continued, before stating, "This decision is mine alone." Yiannopoulos elaborated further during a press conference on Tuesday where apologized for his comments, while bashing the media for taking his words out of context.
Milo announced that he will create his own media platform and continue to "entertain and educate" people moving forward while being a "free speech warrior." "America has a free speech problem," he repeated on several occasions.
Twitter reacts
"In other words, win for Libs & Leftist bcz this is what they want. He scares them to death," one Twitter user wrote in defense of the former Breitbart editor.
"Milo Yiannopoulos wanted attention. He wanted to be outrageous. He wanted to see how far he could go. Now he's reaping what he sowed," social media editor Edward Hardy added. "The chickenhawks have come home to roost," another comment read.
My hope is that Milo Yiannopoulos evaporates into cultural oblivion before I have to learn how to pronounce his last name.
— Sophie Vershbow (@svershbow) February 21, 2017
The chickenhawks have come home to roost. Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart News https://t.co/9JpJVPz6NO
— Bruce LaBruce (@BruceLaBruce) February 21, 2017
The past 48hrs have been fucking glorious: Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart amid child sex storm - CNNMoney https://t.co/DaWNjRLfbk
— Syntherion Steve (@DCdudebro) February 21, 2017
The comment didn't stop there, with another noting, "The past 48hrs have been fu**ing glorious: Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart amid child sex storm." "My hope is that Milo Yiannopoulos evaporates into cultural oblivion before I have to learn how to pronounce his last name," one remark read. The reactions continued as one of the loudest voices for the new political right has come crashing down.