Disgraced Commentator Milo Yiannopoulos Tried To Become A Furry. Furries Said ‘No Thanks’
Fursona non grata.
Ever since Milo Yiannopoulos was booted off Twitter for being one of the most toxic people on an extremely toxic website, he has struggled to hold onto both his audience and his paycheques.
He’s been banned from Patreon, banned from entering Australia, and his aggressively unreadable book was torn to shreds by uh, his own publisher. These days, the only attention he ever really gets in the news is coverage of his latest whinge about his money troubles — of which there have been a great deal (both troubles and whinges).
In many ways, he remains living proof that de-platforming illiberal voices — particularly illiberal voices that were caught on camera offering up controversial opinions on paedophilia — is far more effective than squeamish political commentators would like to admit.
In fact, Milo’s quest for relevancy has become so desperate that he has turned to one of the last internet subcultures that hasn’t rejected him totally — furries.
And hey, guess what? The furries have rejected him totally.
Yep, as reported by RightWingWatch, the whole debacle was kicked off when Yiannopoulos announced via obscure social media platform Telegram that he planned to attend Midwest FurFest. But if there was any suggestion that Yiannopoulos might simply be attending as an impartial guest, that was rapidly dispelled when he announced his intentions to host a panel called “The Politics of Fur”, which was sure to be full of his trademark nuance and subtlety.
As soon as the organisers were made aware of the man’s attendance, Midwest FurFest took to Twitter to announce that they were “investigating” the concerns of attendees.
We have received a number of mentions and support tickets today – we assure all attendees that your safety is of the utmost importance and is not being ignored. We are investigating all concerns being relayed to us.
— Midwest FurFest ? (@FurFest) September 15, 2019
Not long after that, the organisers offered a statement to RightWingWatch, announcing they were rescinding his invitation.
“Hate is not welcome at Midwest FurFest,” they said. “We are dedicated to providing a safe, harassment-free convention experience for all, regardless of age, race, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, or personal beliefs.”
Shortly thereafter, organisers posted another statement to their Twitter page. This second statement remakes many of the same claims, but also contains the greatest sentence I’ve ever read: “The Board of Midwest Furry Fandom, consistent with our posted code of conduct, have rescinded Mr. Yiannopoulos’s registration.”
Self-registration for our event does not imply a given individual’s presence is condoned or appropriate.
Our full statement is below, along with a link to our Code of Conduct: https://t.co/bf78xOGSOo pic.twitter.com/0CnTi6AbYt
— Midwest FurFest ? (@FurFest) September 16, 2019
Sorry ’bout it Milo. Not sure which group it’s worth trying to infiltrate and exploit next — maybe model train enthusiasts?