Far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos announced on Sunday that he has parted ways with the 2024 presidential campaign of rapper Kanye West, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, less than a month after the fashion icon announced his latest political ambitions.
West has faced substantial controversy in recent weeks over repeated antisemitic remarks and praise for historic Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who led Germany and orchestrated the Holocaust genocide of World War II. Yiannopoulos, no stranger to controversy, was also with the rapper during a dinner with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago a few days before Thanksgiving.
“Ye and I have come to the mutual conclusion that I should step away from his political team. Ye is a genius whom I have come to love and respect. We remain friends. I will continue to pray for Ye and all his endeavors,” Yiannopoulos wrote on his Telegram channel Sunday.
In a separate post, which appears to have been deleted, but was viewed and captured in a screenshot by Newsweek, the far-right provocateur suggested he and West had a disagreement over staffing for the 2024 campaign.
“For the record, I had concerns about a potential new hire, but I never tried to get anyone fired—especially not people I personally brought in, who owe me their gratitude, loyalty and respect,” Yiannopoulos wrote in the deleted post.
Will Sommer, a politics reporter for The Daily Beast, reported that Yiannopoulos was fired by the rapper. Newsweek could not independently verify that reporting and attempted to contact West for comment.
“Milo Yiannopoulos has been fired from the Ye / Kanye entourage after a series of disastrous media appearances that saw the candidate praising Hitler. Milo says in an email that there was a ‘mutual conclusion that I should step away,’” Sommer tweeted Sunday.
Milo Yiannopoulos has been fired from the Ye / Kanye entourage after a series of disastrous media appearances that saw the candidate praising Hitler. Milo says in an email that there was a “mutual conclusion that I should step away.”
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) December 4, 2022
“Something to consider after Milo’s firing from the Ye campaign: Milo has a penchant for collecting audio and other compromising material on his frenemies. He had a hard drive called ‘The Vault’ filled with the stuff, and was subpoenaed for it during a Charlottesville lawsuit,” the journalist added in a follow-up tweet.
Something to consider after Milo’s firing from the Ye campaign: Milo has a penchant for collecting audio and other compromising material on his frenemies. He had a hard drive called “The Vault” filled with the stuff, and was subpoenaed for it during a Charlottesville lawsuit.
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) December 4, 2022
It’s unclear who Yiannopoulos’ second Telegram message was referring to. However, according to The Daily Beast, West reportedly just hired controversial YouTube star Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, better known as “Sneako,” who is well-known for urging pedestrians to say the N-word in viral clips.
In a Monday video, the YouTuber said “I met Ye, and then I ended up working with Ye,” before adding that the rapper was a “childhood hero.” De Balinthazy added that he would be working to “fight the new world order.”
Yiannopoulos previously worked as an editor for right-wing Breitbart News. He started with the online publication in 2014 and resigned in 2017. That resignation came after controversial comments about pedophilia by Catholic priests and his expressed support for sexual relations with teenage boys.
The far-right commentator was permanently suspended from Twitter in July 2016 after he was a ring-leader in a barrage of abuse targeting Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones. Yiannopoulos described the social media platform’s decision as “cowardly,” adding that “Twitter has confirmed itself as a safe space for Muslim terrorists and Black Lives Matter extremists, but a no-go zone for conservatives.”
In a previous Sunday Telegram post, Yiannopoulos praised Trump for calling to “terminate” the Constitution.
“This is the most significant thing Trump has said in years. The Constitution & Bill of Rights are no longer fit for purpose. For a start, the First and Second Amendments should be suspended until we are on track for a guaranteed 100-year Christian supermajority,” he wrote.
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