Target: Jonathan Karp, President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Publishing
Goal: Praise Simon & Schuster for dropping book deal with controversial editor.
Milo Yiannopoulos’s book deal with publishers Simon & Schuster was dropped after it was discovered that a scheduled speech of his reportedly contained phrases condoning pedophilia. An editor for the highly controversial and much-maligned alt-right website Breitbart, Yiannopoulos has made speeches attacking feminism, transgender people, and Islam. These statements led to many demanding a boycott of Simon & Schuster, including petitions such as this one that demand his book deal was cancelled.
Yiannopoulos blames “deceptive editing and his own sloppy wording” for the controversy surrounding his claim that sex between a man and a boy 13 or older can be “life affirming,” despite him having been caught on video saying such things. This was only the beginning of the many horrifying pro-statutory rape comments, which he then denied ever having made in order to make himself look like the victim of slander.
While Yiannopoulos’s comments were highly disturbing, their capture on video has led Simon & Schuster to make the right choice in dropping him and his backward, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic views from their company. Sign this petition to thank them for dropping this controversial and disturbing man’s work.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear President Karp,
Thank you for dropping the disturbing and controversial Milo Yiannopoulos as your client. Yiannopoulos has already said too many inflammatory things regarding feminism, homosexuality and other races, and his pro-pederasty comments disturbed millions who watched the videos capturing them live.
Despite the technical term of pedophilia referring to children under 13 years of age, 13 years of age is still considered a child whether or not that particular individual has hit puberty, and child sexual abuse is a hot-button issue. Yiannopoulos’s comments endorsed the statutory rape of teenage boys by grown men, despite Yiannopoulos’s later claims that he did not truly mean what he said.
Today’s political climate is already much too heated due to President Trump’s administration and the Brexit controversy, and Yiannopoulos has a reputation among many as a pot-stirrer, someone whose inflammatory comments exist to further fan the flames of anger and hatred. Many wished to boycott your company, feeling your initial decision to publish him was dangerous. But in the end, you have done the right thing. Thank you.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: ActuaLitté
