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The New Yorker Festival is an annual event that is hosted by The New Yorker Magazine according to Biz Bash the event saw “20,000 people in attendance,” in 2017.
The event which last year featured well known celebrities, like actress Glenn Close, or director Rob Reiner, also draws people like rock climber Alex Honnold. Biz Bash explains that the event “features engaging conversations between New Yorker staff and the world’s leading writers, artists, politicians, athletes, activists,” and even news makers.
This years 19th annual event is to be held on October 5th, 6th, and 7th, and has found itself at the heart of controversy.
The New York Times reported Monday that Steve Bannon had been invited as a guest, to speak with The New Yorker editor David Remnick.
Remnick told the Times via phone, “I have every intention of asking him difficult questions and engaging in a serious and even combative conversation,” Remnick added, “The audience itself, by its presence, puts a certain pressure on a conversation that an interview alone doesn’t do,” he explained that the audience also makes it impossible to jump on and off the record.
Bannon’s appearance at the Festival soon faced outrage among Twitter users
He created an online home for white nationalists to groom and grow their violent base. He cemented his destructive white supremacist views into the DNA of the White House. Now, New Yorker is selling tickets to see him headline. And here we are, folks. https://t.co/JyK8J13Zko
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) September 3, 2018
I hope these fine people reconsider sharing a New Yorker stage with racist, fascist Steve Bannon: @JimCarrey, @davidhogg111, @emilybluntoffcl, @johnkrasinski, @mgyllenhaal, @harrybelafonte, @zadiesmith, @janetmock, @MsPackyetti, @boburnham, @kelelam, @kehindewileyart…
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) September 3, 2018
Soon after the outrage came other speakers announcing via Twitter that they would simply not attend the event
I’m out. I genuinely support public intellectual debate, and have paid to see people speak with whom I strongly disagree. But this isn’t James Baldwin vs William F Buckley. This is PT Barnum level horseshit. And it was announced on a weekend just before tix went on sale. https://t.co/oYk1llNgvV
— John Mulaney (@mulaney) September 3, 2018
If Steve Bannon is at the New Yorker festival I am out. I will not take part in an event that normalizes hate. I hope the @NewYorker will do the right thing and cancel the Steve Bannon event. Maybe they should read their own reporting about his ideology.
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) September 3, 2018
Bannon? And me? On the same program?
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) September 3, 2018
Could never happen.
That led to a statement by Remnick via the Washington Post, who posted Remnick’s entire statement, the main gist, of the lengthy statement is he feels there is value in hearing what a man like Steve Bannon has to say, but that he does not want to alienate his readers or his staff and that he will simply interview Bannon in a different venue at a different time.
“I don’t want well-meaning readers and staff members to think that I’ve ignored their concerns. I’ve thought this through and talked to colleagues—and I’ve re-considered. I’ve changed my mind. There is a better way to do this. Our writers have interviewed Steve Bannon for The New Yorker before, and if the opportunity presents itself I’ll interview him in a more traditionally journalistic setting as we first discussed, and not on stage.”
For What It’s Worth we turn to Rick Wilson best-selling author of Everything Trump Touches Dies
Steve Bannon, #ETTD is real, and it just hit you for the third time in a year.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 4, 2018
Taste the rainbow.
Tickets for The New Yorker Festival go on sale September 7th and range in price from $39.00 to $349.00 dollars a ticket.