When a British man dressed in drag took the stage in the Student Union Theatre, a crowd filled with “Make America Great Again” and Trump 2016 attire, as well as Harambe and anti-Hillary Clinton T-shirts, went wild.
Conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos delivered a “lecture” on fat shaming and body image Wednesday night in the Student Union Theatre as part of his “The Dangerous Faggot Tour.”
Several people took the stage before the main event, one of whom was Benjamin Acosta, a University assistant professor in comparative politics. Before introducing Yiannopoulos, Acosta told the audience to “be the best version of yourself and resist all the f***tard liberals.”
Before beginning his speech, Yiannopoulos took the stage in a white ball gown and blonde wig – which he called “full Marilyn Monroe drag” on Facebook. He sang the national anthem, then launched into his rhetoric on body positivity.
“Being fat is not fine and will never be fine,” Yiannopoulos said to a packed theater. “And 100 percent of fat people are f***ing disgusting.”
Yiannopoulos said fat people cost the nation an estimated $210 billion a year. Fat-shaming is effective because obesity leads to many diseases, and potentially death, he said.
“You may think I’m cruel to fat people, but it’s because I care,” Yiannopoulos said.
His stop at the University sparked controversy, as members of LGBTQ organizations and the University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs met several days prior to organize a protest against Yiannopoulos’ message.
A GoFundMe called “LSU Milothon: Strength in Diversity” was also set up in protest of the event. The proceeds for the fundraiser will be donated to Louisiana Trans Advocates. At the time of publication, the fund had raised $1,121.
LSU Students for Trump organized the event, with a representative from the organization, Remy Garofalo, delivering the opening remarks.
In her statement, Garofalo referenced the protests and anger regarding Yiannopoulos’ appearance. She said there were “so many people” trying to keep the event from happening.
“Fortunately, they were not successful,” Garofalo said to the audience. “Our organization believes that freedom of speech is more important now than it has ever been.”
Stefson Arnold, a political science and philosophy student at Loyola University New Orleans, said he attended the event to support Republican Senate candidate, retired Col. Rob Maness.
“The event was very lively,” Arnold said. “We had a speaker who spoke the truth about his views, and he basically said that he supports free speech.”
Arnold said he enjoyed Yiannopoulos’ event and felt everything he said was truthful.
“Our bodies are up to us and what we want to do with them,” Arnold said.
Arnold said he supported the “GOP all the way.”
Jacob Schmitt, another student from Loyola University New Orleans majoring in general business, was also there to support Maness, but did not claim a political affiliation.
“I’ve never been to anything like that before,” Schmitt said. “It was eye-opening. I thought it was entertaining. He was a great host. The drag was awesome. But I don’t support the whole Trump stuff, really.”
Schmitt said he thought some of the things Yiannopoulos said went too far and were “overboard.”
“I’m all for everybody being healthy and stuff, but he took a picture of some guy at the gym who was obese, and it’s like, that guy is working out, cut him some slack,” Schmitt said.
After the event, Acosta said that while his views did not align with some of the things Yiannopoulos said, he believed Yiannopoulos’ statements were protected under the First Amendment right of free speech.