TORONTO — Controversial “pick-up artist” Julien Blanc, accused of promoting emotional and physical abuse against women, may be banned from Britain.
Sky News reported Wednesday the government is “likely” to reject any visa application Blanc makes.
Blanc’s employer, Real Social Dynamics (RSD) was scheduled to hold “bootcamps” in the UK next week and early next year for men seeking advice on picking up women.
It was not clear if Blanc was scheduled to be part of the events, but more than 150,000 people added their names to an online petition demanding that he be barred from entering the country.
Blanc is under fire for lessons on how to pick-up women using emotional tricks and physical force — and for a series of misogynistic tweets. He is also seen in videos posted online demonstrating how he pulls women’s heads into his crotch and putting his hand around their throats.
Earlier this month, Blanc was kicked out of Australia, where he was scheduled to conduct RSD seminars.
A social media campaign using the hashtag #KeepJulienBlancOutOfCanada was created and there have been similar protests in Japan, Korea and Brazil.
Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said he might follow the lead of his Australian counterpart.
Alexander called Blanc’s material “completely counter to Canadian values and common decency.
“We are looking at all options and will consider using every tool at our disposal to protect the rule of law on Canadian soil.”
Appearing on CNN this week, Blanc offered an apology “to anybody I’ve offended” and claimed some of his comments and materials have been taken out of context.
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