Journalist Cancels Appearance on "Real Time" Because of Milo

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A journalist, and frequent guest of Bill Maher’s “Real Time” has cancelled his appearance on the show this Friday night because of Breitbart editor and conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos being chosen as the lead guest, reports Deadline.

The founder of the Intercept, Jeremy Scahill, has removed himself from the line up of the HBO political talk show in protest of Yiannopoulos saying in a statement released on Twitter that the booking of Milo is “many bridges too far.”

Why I will not appear this week on Real Time with Bill Maher. pic.twitter.com/SOoE3udrDr

— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 15, 2017

Deadline reports that Scahill has been a recurring guest on Maher’s show over the past decade and that Scahill admits he might not always be popular with its audience.

“[Maher] and his staff have created a vital platform for debate and discussion that at times I love and other times loathe,” he wrote in the post. “I know I fall into the latter category for some of the show’s viewers because I hear from them every time I appear. Whatever one might say about Bill, he always allows guests to challenge him or disagree with him.”

Scahill in his statement expressed that he believes Milo will “incite violence against immigrants, transgender people, and others.”

On Friday, a spokesperson for HBO told Deadline that Yiannopoulos would appear in the studio with Maher, and that, “as with other weeks, an appropriate amount of security will be on hand.”