Milo Yiannopoulos resigned from Breitbart minutes before he addressed recent pedophilia comments he made that sparked outrage across the nation and announced he will now starting a new “independently funded” media venture.
“Breitbart News has stood by me when others caved. They allowed me to carry conservative and libertarian ideas to communities that would otherwise never have heard them. They have been a significant factor in my success. I’m grateful for that freedom and for the friendships I forged here,” Yiannopoulos said in a statement.
He continued: “I would be wrong to allow my poor choice of words to detract from my colleagues’ important reporting, so today I am resigning from Breitbart, effective immediately. This decision is mine alone.”
On Sunday, a video surfaced in which Yiannopoulos said some relationships between adults and 13-year-olds are consensual. The Breitbart editor and outspoken Donald Trump supporter also joked that being molested had made him good at oral sex.
“I am horrified by pedophilia,” he said during the press conference. “I do not support child abuse.”
During Tuesday’s press conference, Yiannopoulos said he will continue to make jokes and mock issues that are often considered controversial. His pedophilia comments have resulted in being uninvited to speak at CPAC, Simon & Schuster canceling his book deal and now he has stepped down as the Breitbart tech editor.
Yiannopoulos concluded his resignation statement: “When your friends have done right by you, you do right by them. For me, now, that means stepping aside to my colleagues at Breitbart can get back to the great work they do.”
Yiannopoulos said his book, “Dangerous,” has received interest from other publishers.
“The book will come out this year as planned, with perhaps an additional chapter,” he said before adding that 10 percent of proceeds will help support child abuse charities.
Yiannopoulos said that a new “independently funded” media venture will be announced shortly and a live tour that he called the “Troll Academy Tour” will kick off this year.
“I started my career as a technology editor who wrote about politics but I have since mutated and grown into something quite different,” he said. “I’m now a performer with millions of fans… I look forward to making you all laugh, cry and think for many, many decades to come. My full focus is now going to be on entertaining and educating everyone.”
He previously defended his comments on Facebook: “I am a gay man, and a child abuse victim… My own experiences as a victim led me to believe I could say anything I wanted to on this subject, no matter how outrageous.”