Controversial internet celebrity Milo Yiannopoulos has lashed out at his own fans and friends for not supporting his work as a "front-line warrior" for "American values".
The right-wing provocateur has suffered funding cuts and job losses over comments he made defending having sex with underage boys, and was banned from Twitter after Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones was subjected to a racist and misogynistic online harassment campaign.
In a Facebook post published over the weekend, Yiannopoulos bemoans how much money he's lost over the last few years and the lack of "recognition" he's shown.
"I have been betrayed and abandoned by everyone who ever called themselves my friend, with a small handful of notable exceptions," he said in the post, which has since been deleted.
"You guys have no idea what I have sacrificed for you... I don't advertise my selflessness, because I'm not a victim. But for the love of God show some recognition of what your front-line warriors have accomplished on your behalf, you entitled f**king babies."
Yiannopoulos became popular through his controversial opinion pieces on the Breitbart website, which former boss Steve Bannon referred to as "the platform for the alt-right". Although often referred to as an alt-right figurehead, Yiannopoulos doesn't consider himself a member of the movement.
In the emotional Facebook post, he claimed to be a "significant factor in Donald Trump getting elected" and to have "almost single-handedly ignited the current debate about free speech".
"I've fought bitterly and endlessly for freedom in a country I don't even belong to - not for my benefit, but for yours," said Yiannopoulos.
"For my trouble, I have lost everything standing up for the truth in America, spent all my savings, destroyed all my friendships, and ruined my whole life."
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In a subsequent Facebook post, Yiannopoulos brushed off the message as him having "casually snapped at someone in the comments".
"Apparently I'm so rarely a real human being that it's big news. So, apologies for being a bit too 'real' in the last day or two, if you were distressed," he says.
Currently, Yiannopoulos' website is mocking recently deceased American politician John McCain, suggesting he died of "feminism", and is a "vindictive old bastard" that resembled a vampire.
Newshub.
