For immediate release
In the past week, it was brought to our attention that right-wing critic, Milo Yiannopoulos, has been speaking to the media about becoming what can be described as “ex-gay”, that he is actively making an attempt to change his sexuality from homosexual to heterosexual. This practice has been discredited as pseudoscience. While we do not wish to bring any attention to Yiannopoulos and his divisive and hostile rhetoric, the recent news article in which he speaks about opening a conversion therapy camp in Florida cannot be ignored.
We at the Conversion Therapy Dropout Network strongly and fully condemn any attempt to create any sort of practice that aims to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of youth. In an interview with the New York Post, Yiannopoulos states that he is currently fundraising to launch a reparative therapy program “to help other people go through the same journey that I’m on myself,” speaking on the fact that he is currently going through a sexual orientation change attempt.
Additionally, he comments on the ridiculousness of condemning such a practice, citing what can only be described as the classic “gay agenda” for the bad press around conversion therapy. Yiannopoulos goes on to state in reference to the term “conversion therapy” and his fundraising, “This has been the easiest thing to raise money for that I’ve ever done. There is an enormous demand for this among people who believe they’ve been led astray by — it sounds silly to call it this — but you know, the gay establishment”. This in of itself is consumer fraud, an attempt to monetize abusive torture. Many States recognize conversion therapy as such, as it has never been proven and has shown overwhelming results of harm. Conversion therapy always results in long-lasting mental, emotional, and sometimes physical harm.
While we will not go further into his comments, we are dismayed and distraught by the ideals that he has proposed. Yiannopoulos’ continuous arrogance to support his lifestyle of spreading hate and division has now led him down a very dangerous path; not for him, but for those who will believe the utter nonsense that is conversion or reparative therapy. Our entire mission is to support and help those impacted by the practices that he is touting, something that has been found illegal, abusive, and fraudulent in many states.
Those donating to this campaign have been grossly misled, and are likely unaware of the harm they are perpetuating. Make no mistake, what Yiannopoulos is proposing and fundraising for is nothing more than a money-making scam whose sole purpose is the abuse and torture of LGBTQ+ people.
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Curtis D. Galloway
Founder & President
Conversion Therapy Dropout Network
Curtis@conversiontherapydropout.org
(844) 419-2836
I think you should make more of the idea that this is a sham. “This has been the easiest thing to raise money for that I’ve ever done." (MY) That's the key. He's not trying to change who he is. Milo fell off his pedestal and now he's broke, so he's playing the Evangelicals' game to squeeze what he can out of those sorry fools.