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Sunrise host’s fiery clash with alt-right poster boy

ALT-RIGHT posterboy Milo Yiannopoulos made a brief but fiery appearance on Sunrise this morning. Kochie wasn’t thrilled.

Nick BondNick Bond
@bondnickbond
2 min read
October 9, 2017 - 10:19AM
Kochie and Milo Yiannopoulos go head to head on Sunrise

CONTROVERSIAL alt-right posterboy Milo Yiannopoulos made a brief but fiery appearance on Sunrise this morning — and the hosts did not seem too pleased to see him.

Appearing via satellite to promote an upcoming Australian tour, Yiannopoulos was immediately challenged by David Koch and Monique Wright over his extreme views.

“Do you actually believe in what you say, or are you just trying to stir the pot?” asked Koch.

“A lot of people have that question. I don’t know why it should be weird that a gay guy should be sceptical or fearful of Islam,” Yiannopoulos responded.

“I don’t care whether you’re gay or whatever, I’m just saying — some of the things you say are so outrageous, I think, is he like a real-life Borat?” Koch continued.

Kochie asked the 'internet supervillain' if he's just bunging it on.
Kochie asked the 'internet supervillain' if he's just bunging it on.

Yiannopoulos challenged the hosts to define what was so “outrageous” about his views — and co-host Wright obliged.

“You’ve called rape culture a fantasy, you’ve likened feminism to cancer, you’ve said women on the pill don’t look right, don’t talk right ... ”

“Well, all those things are true. All those things are true,” he said.

Yiannopolous then claimed that feminism does not enjoy widespread support, and is instead a myth largely peddled by journalists.

“I’ve heard you say that with almost every interview you do,” said Wright.

“Well then you should ask different questions, darling,” he shot back, laughing.

“I’m just about to. You said that women on the pill don’t look right and talk right, but we need the kids to keep Muslim invaders at bay. I’m just not sure why you want to be hurtful rather than just have a reasoned debate?” she asked.

“The things people get most upset about is inconvenient truths ... Things that people don’t want you to say. My function in culture is to say those things. I want to be a firestarter, to instigate debate.”

Kochie was uncharacteristically curt when wrapping up the brief interview.

“Alright, OK, well you’re touring later this year. Thanks very much for joining us,” he said.

“I rest my case,” he muttered to his co-host once Yiannopoulos was off the air.

Later in the show, Kochie said he was convinced his guest was a fraud.

“I never thought he actually meant anything he said, he just wants the attention. I put it to him and he denied it, but at the end of the interview I was more convinced than ever,” he said.

The morning show slot comes just days after a damning Buzzfeed News investigation which exposed Yiannopoulos’ close ties to white supremacists during his time as the technology editor for right-wing website Breitbart News.

Yiannopoulos was forced to resign from the company earlier this year amid a paedophilia controversy after videos surfaced in which defended relationships with children and said child sex abuse was “not that big of a deal”.

Given those controversies, some viewers questioned why Sunrise had Yiannopoulos on at all:

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/morning-shows/sunrise-hosts-fiery-clash-with-altright-poster-boy/news-story/3826757db5ec69ecc86677482dbf7cad