Celebrity

‘Ex-gay’ right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos steps down as Yeezy’s chief of staff

May 16
Written by Charlie Duncan

Milo Yiannopoulos has resigned from Yeezy as chief of staff (Getty)

Controversial ‘ex-gay’ right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has stepped down as the chief of staff of Kanye West’s apparel brand, Yeezy.

According to TMZ, Yiannopoulos is set to part ways with the brand after the rapper, and similarly controversial figure, who changed his name to Ye, announced that the company was “planning to launch a porn site“.

The political commentator had reportedly worked for the brand for almost two years but in a statement obtained by TMZ, said: “I wish Ye every success in the future. I have some concerns about his new team, and hope he proceeds with caution.”

Yiannopoulos, who claims he is a “former homosexual”, also gave TMZ a copy of his resignation letter, available to read on their site, which confirms that the decision was prompted by Ye’s porn plans.

“I cannot be complicit in the production or dissemination of porn… for moral and religious reasons,” Yiannopoulos said, adding that “the kind of people invariably involved in its productions” would put him in “imminent danger” as a “former homosexual”.

If the company abandoned the plans, it would be “an honour to serve” them again, he added.

Yeezy was originally a collaboration with popular sportswear brand Adidas, but the partnership was terminated in 2022 after West made a number of antisemitic remarks, and wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at a Paris Fashion Week show.

More recently, West has continued to cause controversy after allegedly calling Hitler an “innovator” and making homophobic remarks to staff members, a lawsuit claimed.

Yiannopoulos made a name for himself as the editor of Breitbart News, a right-wing, conservative news and opinion website. Despite marrying a man in 2017, he urged Australians to vote against gay marriage and even threw his “sodomy stone” (wedding ring) into the ocean in 2021.