Despite Milo Move, Author Won't Let Publisher Off Hook

Feminist author Roxane Gay rails on Simon & Schuster
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2017 12:15 PM CST
Milo Book Cancellation Is Too Little, Too Late
In this Jan. 25, 2017, file photo, Milo Yiannopoulos speaks at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo.   (Jeremy Papasso/Daily Camera via AP, File)

People are buzzing about Simon & Schuster pulling Milo Yiannopoulos' upcoming book, Dangerous, over past pedophilia comments—but one person not giving him, or the publisher, a pass is Roxane Gay. On her Tumblr, the Bad Feminist author digs into S&S, noting that no, "they did not finally 'do the right thing'" by deciding enough is enough. Instead, Gay shakes her head at their sudden pearl-clutching, accusing the publisher of having no issues with "his racist and xenophobic and sexist ideologies" or "his transphobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia." She also says the publisher turned a blind eye when the Breitbart editor went after people online, including SNL actress Leslie Jones, who was said to be a Twitter target of Yiannopoulos-directed harassment—accusations that ended up getting him banned from the site.

Jones had spoken out previously against Yiannopoulos' book deal, as had Gay, who went a step further and pulled her own book scheduled to go to print with Simon & Schuster. And just because Yiannopoulos is no longer a client doesn't mean Gay is returning to the publisher's fold, either, noting that once she pulled out, Simon & Schuster moved Yiannopoulos' release date from March to June 13—the day she says her book was originally set to release. That move sealed the deal for her that "this was not a company I wanted to do business with." As for those trying to argue the First Amendment, Gay has some thoughts on that, too, calling the reneged Yiannopoulos deal "yet another example of how we are afforded the freedom of speech but there is no freedom from the consequences of what we say." Her entire piece is here. (More opinion stories.)

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