The Intercept co-founder Jeremy Scahill is cancelling his planned appearance on “Real Time With Bill Maher” this week due to the show booking Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos.
In a statement posted on his Twitter feed, Scahill said that he respects Maher and has enjoyed appearing on his show many times in the past.
“But Milo Yiannopoulos is a bridge too far,” Scahill wrote. “He has ample venues to spew his hateful diatribes. There is no value in ‘debating’ him.”
“Appearing on ‘Real Time’ will provide Yiannopoulos with a large important platform to advocate his racist, anti-immigrant campaign,” Scahill continued. “It will be exploited by Yiannopoulos in an attempt to legitimize his hateful agenda.”
Read his full Twitter statement below.
Why I will not appear this week on Real Time with Bill Maher. pic.twitter.com/SOoE3udrDr
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 15, 2017
HBO announced earlier on Wednesday that Yiannopoulos would appear on the show. Maher has been reportedly trying to book Yiannopoulos for “Real Time” for weeks, and last week, Yiannopoulos said during an interview on Adam Carolla’s podcast that he was hoping to appear on the show by the end of the month.
The appearance comes just two weeks after his speaking appearance at UC Berkeley was shut down by riots triggered by anti-fascist groups.
Yiannopoulos has quickly made a name for himself as one of the most outspoken voices of the alt-right movement, which has risen to prominence as Donald Trump has taken the White House.
He has drawn the ire of the left with columns on Breitbart arguing that “fat shaming works” and declaring in interviews that “feminism is cancer.” He was banned from Twitter after posting tweets attacking “SNL” comedian Leslie Jones, which led to his supporters harassing Jones en masse with vulgar, racists messages.
Why I will not appear this week on Real Time with Bill Maher. pic.twitter.com/SOoE3udrDr
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 15, 2017