Silke Jasso
The already bizarre and controversial nature of gay, right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos took an explosive turn Sunday when a video of him seemingly advocating child molestation — “coming of age” sexual relationships between grown men and children as young as 13 — went viral.
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đ¨ Breaking: We obtained the #CPAC2017 Milo Yiannopoulos introductory video.
This is a must watch!
Well done @mschlapp. pic.twitter.com/2nA0H9woUX
— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) February 19, 2017
The expletive-laced video surfaced on the heels of a weekend announcement that Yiannopoulos, who made a rather low-key and friendly appearance on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” on Friday night, will headline the American Conservative Unionâs Conservative Political Action Conference.
The conservative media group The Reagan Battalion was the first to get the clip on its Twitter page. The group’s tweet includes a jab at Matt Schlapp, the American Conservative Union Chair, whose Twitter profile reads: “Dad to 5 angels.”
RELATED: It didn’t take long for a Bill Maher panelist to tell Milo Yiannopoulos to go…
Here’s Yiannopoulos’ “coming of age” statement from the video:
“In the homosexual world, particularly, some of those relationships between younger boys and older men â the sort of ‘coming of age’ relationship â those relationships in which those older men help those young boys discover who they are and give them security and safety and provide them with love and a reliable, sort of rock, where they canât speak to their parents.”
The Reagan Battalion then posted a longer cut of Yiannopoulos making controversial comments.
Here is a longer cut where Milo Yiannopoulos says that he "is advocating" for legal sex between 13 year olds! & older men. #CPAC2017 pic.twitter.com/1fiuv7TSKs
— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) February 19, 2017
In another portion of the clip, an off-screen voice is heard saying, “It sounds like molestation to me. It sounds like Catholic priest molestation to me.” Yiannopoulos shoots back, “But you know what? I’m grateful for Father Michael. I wouldnât give nearly such good head if it wasnât for him.”
Yiannopoulos is also an editor for Breitbart News, the right-leaning website formerly run by Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s chief strategist.
RELATED: Milo’s protesters have to be the dumbest people on earth
Predictably, Yiannapoulos attempted to quiet the fervor with a Facebook post by denying he said what can be heard on the video clip. He attempts to turn the tables, shifting from his comments to placing blame on establishment-type Republicans for releasing the video. He ends his rant with yet another expletive.
The widespread reaction has not been kind to Yiannopoulos. Harsh criticism came crashing down from all fronts, including conservatives.
https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/833381439257378816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/BlakeSeitz/status/833522407692521472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/833533857202892800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
If Lena Dunham said what Milo said, verbatim, every conservative in the country would be calling for a police investigation
— Dr. Matt Walsh, Womenâs Studies Scholar (@MattWalshBlog) February 20, 2017
I thought Milo had good points on PC culture. But with him now supporting child sexual abuse, if conservatives stick with him, they're evil.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) February 20, 2017
CNN’s Jake Tapper turned out a thread on Twitter after being contacted by a concerned friend, who Tapper described as a victim of molestation as a child.
Friend of mine, conservative, could not be more distraught by this Milo tape. Was molested as a child. Horrified.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017
My friend, a survivor of sex trafficking: "Milo straight up defended abusing 13 yr old boys…Please don't let that be normalized"
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017
More from survivor of sex trafficking: "Please please please don't let that mess he said go away."
How on earth can CPAC defend this?
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017
Was planning on ignoring for the most part, for those saying "stop publicizing him." But friend reached out & pled w me to say something
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017
And sometimes that's what journalists do – give voice to the voiceless. In this case, a survivor of sex trafficking HORRIFIED by Milo.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017
Preying on children is the definition of evil. Justifying it in any way is sick and disturbing.
Has everyone lost their minds?
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017
