The Conservative Political Action Conference has withdrawn a speaking slot from gay alt-right figure Milo Yiannopoulos, after a selectively edited video clip apparently showed him expressing support for pedophilia.
According to Politico, the American Conservative Union, which sponsors CPAC, released a statement explaining why they disinvited Yiannopoulos. According to sources familiar with the situation, the ACU’s decision was unanimous.
“Due to the revelation of an offensive video in the past 24 hours condoning pedophilia, the American Conservative Union has decided to rescind the invitation,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the ACU.
The statement also called on Yiannopoulos to “further address these disturbing comments,” and defended the group’s original decision to have Yiannopoulos speak about his experiences with the political Left’s attempts to silence right-wing points of view on college campuses.
Yiannopoulos shot back at the charges against him in a Facebook post titled “A note for idiots.”
“I do not support pedophilia. Period. It is a vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst,” Yiannopoulos wrote. “There are selectively edited videos doing the rounds, as part of a co-ordinated effort to discredit me from establishment Republicans, that suggest I am soft on the subject.
“If it somehow comes across (through my own sloppy phrasing or through deceptive editing) that I meant any of the ugly things alleged, let me set the record straight: I am completely disgusted by the abuse of children.”
Yiannopoulos also argues that he has contempt for and has outed suspected pedophiles in his career as a journalist for Breitbart.
He notes that, in the same interview now making the rounds, he said he agreed with the current age of consent, and apologizes for using the word “boy” when he talks about relationships between older and younger gay men, saying: “Gay men often use the word ‘boy’ when they refer to consenting adults. I understand that heterosexual people might not know that, so it was a sloppy choice of words that I regret.”
“This rush to judgment from establishment conservatives who hate Trump as much as they hate me, before I have had any chance to provide context or a response, is one of the big reasons gays vote Democrat,” Yiannopoulos writes. “In case there is any lingering doubt, here’s me, in the same interview the other footage is taken from, affirming that the current legal age of consent is about right: ‘And I think the law is probably about right. It’s probably roughly the right age. I think it’s probably about ok. But there are certainly people who are capable of giving consent at a younger age. I certainly consider myself to be one of them, people who were sexually active younger. I think it particularly happens in the gay world, by the way.'”
However, the ACU’s Schlapp said in his statement that Yiannopoulos’ Facebook post and the apology contained within were “insufficient.”
A Republican congressman is apologizing for a social media post on his X account that attempted to provoke the LGBTQ community during Pride Month by declaring that "homosexuality has no place in America."
The statement, posted to the official X account of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), echoes anti-LGBTQ rhetoric embraced by some of the world's most theocratic or authoritarian regimes, including Iran, Ghana, Uganda, and Russia. In those countries, LGBTQ identity and same-sex relationships are often criminalized or heavily stigmatized, with some governments imposing lengthy prison sentences, harsh fines, corporal punishment, or even the death penalty.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill requiring federally funded public schools to "out" transgender students to their parents if school officials learn the students identify as a gender different from their assigned sex at birth.
H.R. 2616, the "Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act" -- dubbed the "Don't Say Trans" bill by critics -- passed 217-198, with eight Democrats joining Republicans and one independent in support of the measure.
Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Burgess Owens (R-Utah), the bill requires public schools to obtain parental permission before using names or pronouns that do not align with a student's assigned sex at birth or recognizing a student's gender identity.
U.S. attitudes toward gay marriage, same-sex relations, and transgender identity have continued to decline after reaching peak levels several years ago, according to recent polling.
The backslide in terms of viewing LGBTQ issues in a favorable light has been driven largely by a decrease in pro-LGBTQ views among Republicans, according to Gallup, which surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults from May 1 to May 17, 2026.
Starting in 1996, Gallup has annually asked, as part of its Values and Beliefs Survey, whether Americans support same-sex marriage. In the first year, only 27% of U.S. adults said they supported it. That number gradually increased, with significant gains each year after 2010, peaking at 71% in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, support fell to 69% and has continued to decline ever since.
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