Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter sought to defend Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos’ comments about paedophilia by incorrectly accusing immigrants and refugees of the same crime.
The woman who has built her career by speaking and writing about the false premise that the main problem facing the US is immigration, and that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than native-born US citizens, tweeted: "Well, Milo learned HIS lesson. Pederasty acceptable only for refugees and illegals. Then libs will support you."
Her tweet, which prompted a backlash online, was related to recently resurfaced videos which showed Mr Yiannopoulos saying that boys as young as 13 were "sexually mature" and that having been a victim of sexual abuse made him good at oral sex.
Within 24 hours, publisher Simon & Schuster dropped his $250,000 book deal, he was uninvited to the Conservative Political Action Conference and his continued employment at Breitbart has reportedly threatened a walk-out of at least half a dozen staff.
He attempted to rectify the mistake on Facebook, saying he "deeply regretted" his "stupid wording".
"I am a gay man, and a child abuse victim," he said. "I would like to restate my utter disgust at adults who sexually abuse minors."
He also argued he had exposed three paedophiles during his career as a journalist and listed them off in a Facebook video, criticising left-leaning publications for allegedly covering up for people who had been accused of the crime.
Both Ms Coulter and Mr Yiannopoulos have accused liberals of outrage over the comments, yet it was the author being uninvited from a prominent Conservative conference that also caused headlines.
Ms Coulter and Mr Yiannopoulos met for dinner this month and have defended each other online.
Mr Yiannopoulos said on the Bill Maher show, "Having Ann Coulter on is the only time I watch your show."
It follows Facebook celebrity and right-wing commentator Tomi Lahren referring to refugees as "rapeugees".
