Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes has denied reports his media company Censored.TV is experiencing financial difficulties resulting in major layoffs.
Milo Yiannopoulos, one of the original figureheads of the so-called "alt-right" movement," has a weekly show on Censored.TV. He claimed the platform is laying off all its staff and was told that there is no longer enough money for a producer, despite the "thousands of subscribers I've brought in to the network."
Censored.TV, which charges users $10 a month for access, features shows and appearances from far-right figures such as McInnes, fellow Proud Boy leader Joe Biggs, white nationalist Nicholas Fuentes and activist Laura Loomer
InfoWars' Alex Jones has also appeared on the network, with fellow conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl having his own show.
Discussing the apparent layoffs on messaging app Telegram, Yiannopoulos wrote: "Unfortunately, this makes my show untenable. Producing it on my own would cut too deeply into time I need to finish my forthcoming book, MAKE AMERICA HATE AGAIN. Therefore, FRIDAY NIGHT'S ALL RIGHT will end in a couple of weeks' time.
"I love Gavin and will always be grateful to him for hosting my show when no one else would."
He added: "They paid me late 11 months out of the last 12 so I suppose I should have seen it coming.
"I am told the whole editorial team is gone and the shows are all getting stripped back to bare bones. Gavin has fought tooth and nail to keep the company alive and I wish him well and pray for his continued success."
In an email to Salon, McInnes described the reports of mass layoffs as "completely false."
The claims were also denied by Wohl, who wrote on Telegram that "Censored.TV isn't going anywhere" while promoting his upcoming show.
Also speaking to Salon, Wohl said: "None of the staff, besides the staff that worked on Milo's show, have been, in fact, laid off or furloughed."
Discussing Yiannopoulos' claims of frequent late payment from the company, Wohl added: "I have never had anything show up late from Censored.TV."
At the time of publication Censored.TV is still online and promoting its upcoming shows.
Censored.TV and Yiannopoulos have been contacted for further comment.
McInnes set up Censored.TV in 2019 after suddenly departing from Glenn Beck's BlazeTV the previous year.
McInnes was a co-founder of Vice Media, although no longer has any ties to the media company, having left in 2008.
"What he did after that—including founding the Proud Boys in 2016—had nothing to do with VICE, our values or our people," the company told their employees in October 2020 amid increased attention on the group after Donald Trump failed to disavow them during a presidential debate, and instead told them to "stand back and stand by."
McInnes left the Proud Boys in November 2018 after several of its members were charged over a street brawl with antifa following a speech he made at the Metropolitan Republican Club in New York.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
