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."

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The convention organizers later told Right Wing Watch that they had rescinded Yiannopoulos' registration.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 Yiannopoulos was deplatformed by furries.

"We are dedicated to providing a safe, harassment-free convention experience for all, regardless of age, race, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, or personal beliefs. Midwest FurFest can confirm that Mr. Yiannopoulos has registered for the event this year. While the convention generally does not comment on anyone's registration status, Mr. Yiannopoulos has already stated as much publicly. The board of Midwest Furry Fandom, consistent with our posted code of conduct, has rescinded Mr. Yiannopoulos's registration. He is not welcome to attend this or any future Midwest FurFest event."

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."

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.

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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.

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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.

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Furry or non-furry alike, we'd all like to unsee that.