Simon & Schuster’s decision to publish a book by Breitbart News’ Milo Yiannopoulos appears to be paying off with retailer Amazon despite calls from liberal celebrities for a boycott.
Mr. Yiannopoulos announced Thursday that he was given a $250,000 contract by publishing giant Simon & Schuster. His pronouncement that irate critics only fuel his fame did not dissuade Hollywood entertainers like Sarah Silverman and Judd Apatow from joining calls for a boycott. “Dangerous” shot to the No. 1 slot on the U.S. Amazon Best Seller list less than 24 hours later.
“In response to this disgusting validation of hate, we will not cover a single @simonschuster book in 2017,” Chicago Review of Books tweeted Thursday.
“I am in! In these times we can not let hatemongers get rich off of their cruelty. Shame on @simonschuster!” Mr. Apatow added in response to plans for a protest.
“The guy has freedom of speech but to fund him & give him a platform tells me a LOT about @simonschuster YUCK AND BOO AND GROSS,” wrote Ms. Silverman, a comedian and activist for the Democratic Party.
The “alt-right” provocateur, who was given a lifetime ban from Twitter over the summer, took to Facebook to celebrate.
“We f-ing did it!” he wrote.
The book’s popularity propelled it past the late Carrie Fisher’s “The Princess Diarist” and Tim Ferriss’ “Tools of Titans” early Friday.
“As is now painfully obvious from my Twitter ban, boycotts tend to make the shunned more popular. Simon & Schuster apparently understands this, which makes them the smartest of the big publishers,” the pundit told Business Insider on Friday.
Mr. Yiannopoulos added that although there are “fringe factions” of the so-called “alt-right,” those individuals want nothing to do with a “Jewish homosexual” who is romantically involved with black men.
“I like the free-speech stuff, the political-correctness stuff. And I believe in and love the populist, nationalist, antiglobalist rebellion happening all over the West,” he told Business Insider.
“Dangerous” will be released March 14, 2017.
I am in! In these times we can not let hatemongers get rich off of their cruelty. Shame on @simonschuster ! https://t.co/S6sACtKaoL
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) December 30, 2016
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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