Milo Yiannopoulos Banned From Crowdfunding Site Within 24 Hours, Still $2 Million in Debt

Milo Yiannopoulos’ self-described comeback was cut short this week when Patreon pulled the plug on his crowdfunding campaign within 24 hours.

Yiannopoulos had hoped to fundraise his way back to financial solvency following a report from The Guardian that showed the disgraced gay alt-right darling is more than $2 million in debt. A Patreon page set up by the former Breitbart editor on Dec. 4 promised that supporters could join “Milo’s Big Gay Army” in exchange for just $2.50 a month.

In return for donating more money, followers would be designated as a “Cheerleader,” or “Sassy Bitch,” while others could be a part of his “Trigger Squad.”

But for a monthly contribution of $750, individuals in the “elite tier” would be gifted a personal thank-you letter handwritten by Yiannopoulos and a coffee mug. In addition, he promised top-level donors “exclusive invitations to drinks when Milo is in your city (you’re buying).”

If begging for free cocktails from strangers weren’t humbling enough, the 34-year-old penned a woeful plea for assistance following a “miserable year or two.”

“After two years of relentless, dishonest attacks on me by the press, I got roughed up and lost my way,” Yiannopoulos claimed. “I’ve never asked for money like this before. But I need you to help me get back to work.”

The enfant terrible claimed the fundraising effort would be used to “support my family, pay essential staff and service providers.”

Yiannopoulos also said he was planning to create his own TV show.

Patreon, however, quickly disabled the controversial figure’s crowdfunding page after claiming that it violated the platform’s community guidelines. In a Dec. 5 tweet, the company claimed his campaign “was removed from Patreon as we don’t allow association with or supporting hate groups on Patreon.”

The website cited Yiannopoulos’ “past association” with the Proud Boys as a breach of its policies, although it noted he recently cut ties with the white supremacist group.

Patreon’s guidelines forbid “serious attacks, or even negative generalizations, of people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or serious medical conditions.”

At the time his page was removed, a reported 250 patrons pledged to donate to Yiannopoulos on a monthly basis.

Yiannopoulos attempted to make light of the situation on his Facebook page by posting a screenshot of an email from Patreon notifying him that he would no longer be permitted to raise money on the site. “Back to square one, I guess!” he said, with a faux-upbeat attitude.

His current predicament, though, is allegedly quite dire.

According to the aforementioned Guardian report, Yiannopoulos owes more than $1.6 million to his own media enterprise, Milo, Inc. The company was his last failed comeback attempt after his termination from Breitbart over comments defending clerical abuse in the Catholic church.

Yiannopoulos is also allegedly $400,000 in debt to Breitbart’s backers, the billionaire Mercer family. He also owes $153,000 in legal fees, $52,000 to Four Seasons, and $20,000 to Cartier.

The far-right personality attempted to discredit the Guardian’s reporting by saying he is bringing in $40,000 a month.

Image via Getty

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