A group of LGBT figures have signed an open letter condemning OUT Magazine’s profile of Breitbart Senior Editor Milo Yiannopoulos.
“Now a growing list of LGBT media figures — including three who work for Out magazine — have issued an open letter condemning the story” wrote Lucas Grindley for The Advocate. “As of early Thursday, it had been signed by 40 people.”
Names include the publishers of several LGBT blogs, including The New Civil Rights Movement’s David Badash, Towleroad’s Andy Towle, and JoeMyGod’s Joe Jervis. It includes well-respected names such as Trish Bendix, the former editor-in-chief of AfterEllen who was named LGBT Journalist of the Year by NLGJA in 2015; Karen Ocamb, the famed veteran LGBT reporter; and Michelangelo Signorile, the radio host and longtime activist writer. Also signing the letter were the LGBT section editors for Think Progress, The Huffington Post, and Slate: Zack Ford, Noah Michelson, and Bryan Lowder. The list goes on with writers well known to LGBT people.
“The Out magazine profile of Milo Yiannopoulos is a serious problem,” their lengthy letter states. “It’s not because Yiannopoulos was mentioned, nor even because he was profiled. It’s because the profile negligently perpetuates harm against the LGBT community. We expect more from our colleagues.”
The 660-word letter concludes, “Out magazine has now provided a perfect example of what not to do.”
In the story, Yiannopoulos uses a transphobic slur while laughing at the idea that trans people exist. He also makes the case that gay people have the highest IQs, an argument echoing the eugenics movement. The Breitbart editor has claimed elsewhere (without any evidence) that women have lower IQs than men. And he offers a lengthy defense against accusations that he’s a racist who relies heavily on his self-professed love of “black dick,” which sounds like fetishism even as he simultaneously claims it isn’t. He also says Muslims are a threat to LGBT people — spreading xenophobia — while arguing for a Donald Trump presidency.
Milo has requested two corrections from The Advocate’s story. The first being their claim that Milo “has claimed elsewhere (without any evidence) that women have lower IQs than men”. Milo has never said that women have lower IQs than men. He has stated that IQ is distributed differently between the sexes, which it is.
Secondly, Milo has requested that The Advocate apologizes for quoting people claiming Milo to be a white supremacist. This is an outrageous and insupportable claim and it is utterly false.
You can read the rest of The Advocate’s story here.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.
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