Former Breitbart senior editor MILO has apologized for comments he made over a year ago about sex between and adult and a minor and the age of consent.
“My experiences as a victim [of sexual abuse] led me to believe I could say anything I wanted to on this subject, no matter how outrageous,” proclaimed MILO during his New York City press conference. “But I understand that my usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humor might have come across as flippancy, a lack of care for other victims or, worse, ‘advocacy.’ I am horrified by that impression.”
“I would like to restate my disgust at adults who sexually abuse minors. I am horrified by pedophilia and I have devoted large portions of my career as a journalist to exposing child abusers,” he continued. “I’ve outed three of them, in fact — three more than most of my critics.”
“I do not believe sex with 13-year-olds is okay. When I mentioned the number 13, I was talking about myself, and the age I lost my own virginity,” MILO explained. “I shouldn’t have used the word ‘boy’ — which gay men often do to describe young men of consenting age — instead of ‘young man.’ That was an error. I was talking about my own relationship when I was 17 with a man who was 29. The age of consent in the UK is 16.”
MILO went on to declare that “The remarks I made on podcasts and interviews more than a year ago were about my personal life experiences.”
“I will not apologize for dealing with my life experiences in the best way that I can, which is humor. No one can tell me or anyone else who has lived through sexual abuse how to deal with those emotions,” he continued. “But I am sorry to other abuse victims if my own personal way of dealing with what happened to me has hurt you.
“I haven’t ever apologized before. Name-calling doesn’t bother me. But to be a victim of child abuse and for the media to call me an apologist for child abuse is absurd,” added MILO. “I regret the things I said. I don’t think I’ve been as sorry about anything in my whole life. This isn’t how I wanted my parents to find out about this.”
You can read MILO’s full speech here.
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