Furries ban Milo Yiannopoulos from FurFest convention
Milo Yiannopoulos, far-right incendiary and professional complainer, has been banned from a furry convention.
Yiannopoulos announced that he took on a "fursona" — alternate egos that furries adopt in the form of anthropomorphized animals — and bought tickets to the Midwest FurFest, a convention to "celebrate the furry fandom" just outside of Chicago in December. He posted it on the messaging app Telegram. According to Right Wing Watch, it's one of the few social platforms that hasn't kicked him off yet.
He also suggested hosting a panel titled "The Politics of Fur," according to the Telegram posts, and instructed his followers to contact him to set up "dinners, drinks, photos or anything else" if they were also in attendance.
But after an online outcry from both within and outside of the furry community, the Midwest FurFest tweeted that it was "investigating all concerns."
We have received a number of mentions and support tickets today - we assure all attendees that your safety is of the utmost importance and is not being ignored. We are investigating all concerns being relayed to us.
— Midwest FurFest 🌻 (@FurFest) September 15, 2019
The convention organizers later told Right Wing Watch that they had rescinded Yiannopoulos' registration. In a statement, they said "hate is not welcome at Midwest FurFest."
Here's the rest of the statement, because as many on Twitter pointed out, there's something very sweet about knowing Milo Yiannopoulos was deplatformed by furries.
In response, Yiannopolous has escalated to threatening to attend anyway. He posted again on Telegram on Monday, and shared screenshots of emails he sent to the FurFest organizers.
"I asked you to reach out to me so I could correct lies and slanders about me and reassure you about my intentions. You didn't," he wrote in the email. "So I'm coming anyway. And I'm bringing friends. Get ready."
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In another email, he claimed that he had two hotel rooms booked under two different friends' names, and that he would have "unfettered access to hotel facilities" where the convention is taking place.
"If you wish to rescue this relationship, you have 24 hours in which to act," he wrote to the FurFest organizers.
The Midwest FurFest also released a public statement on Twitter, emphasizing again that Yiannopoulos would not be welcome at the convention and that he was banned from registering for future FurFest events.
Self-registration for our event does not imply a given individual’s presence is condoned or appropriate.
Our full statement is below, along with a link to our Code of Conduct: https://t.co/bf78xOGSOo pic.twitter.com/0CnTi6AbYt— Midwest FurFest 🌻 (@FurFest) September 16, 2019
Yiannopoulos is infamous for his support of Gamergate, being banned from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for harassment, his association with Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and eventually getting fired from the far-right website Breitbart for defending pedophilia.
He's also banned from Australia. The Australian government denied his visa earlier this year to prevent him from inciting "discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community."
The furry community, meanwhile, continues to grapple with subgroups like the #AltFurry — fursonas that emulate the aesthetics and ideology of Nazis. In 2017, the Rocky Mountain Fur Con canceled its annual convention after discord between #AltFurry and antifa furry groups. The Daily Beast dove into the events leading up to the convention's cancellation, and highlighted the furries fighting alt-right members from stirring up trouble.
Twitter users thought the whole situation was hilarious.
Milo getting tazed while trying to break into a furry convention would be the only proof I need for the existence of a higher power.
— Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club (@PugetSoundJBGC) September 16, 2019
Milo Yiannopolous was trying to attend a furry convention to cause some shit. The con rescinded his badge and banned him.
You could say he was... fursona non grata.— Logan Rapp (@Loganchance) September 16, 2019
The funniest thing about non-furry right-wing boomers getting mad about Milo getting banned from a furry con is when they say dumb shit like this that show they really don't know fucking anything about furries or furry cons
I'm cackling here holy shit https://t.co/G9tREFtRdv— Weyoun Appreciator (@DumbCerb) September 16, 2019
Milo failed to gain support in alt-right circles so now he's trying to get his money and clout from the furry fandom lol goodbye
— Fleas 🔜 MFF (@SpookyFleas) September 15, 2019
The greatest thing online today is Milo getting rejected from a furry convention and throwing a threat tantrum about it https://t.co/x2K5YuSt56
— Kate Leth 🦇 (@kateleth) September 16, 2019
Meanwhile, the far-right furry group the Furry Raiders — who were also involved in the 2017 Fur Con cancellation — welcomed Yiannopoulos with this unfortunate rendering of a purple leopard wearing sunglasses.
The Furry Fandom will always be a open and free place to express yourself.
We're happy to welcome Milo Yiannopoulos to the Furry Fandom and the Furry Raiders.#theycantbanusall pic.twitter.com/Ks1zVUyK01— Furry Raiders (@Furry_Raiders) September 15, 2019
Furry or non-furry alike, we'd all like to unsee that.