WATCH ABOVE: Despite a petition signed by more than 35 000 people, the infamous blogger known as “Roosh V” has entered Canada and is slated to speak in Montreal. AS Billy Shields reports, his visit is being met with protests and demands he leave the country.
MONTREAL – A whirlwind of controversy is swirling around a controversial blogger who is in Montreal to hold a lecture espousing anti-feminist views decried as hateful and misogynist.
Roosh V is the on-line handle of Daryush Valizadeh, a blogger from the United States who administrates a website called “Return of Kings” which includes sections about combating feminism and offers advice to men about dealing with women.
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His appearance in Montreal Saturday caused enough of a controversy that he had to reschedule a lecture to another venue after protesters ferreted out the first location at the Omni Hotel.
A demonstration occurred against rape culture just outside Concordia University’s downtown campus noon Saturday. Though largely uneventful, there were people who showed up to the protest with an eye toward arguing with demonstrators, who told them to leave.
Aurelie Nix, one of the organizers, was part of a movement to keep Valizadeh from entering Canada through an on-line petition. The petition amassed more than 37,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon, but Valizadeh was allowed to enter the country.
“What he’s doing is hate speech,” Nix said.
“We’re responding with anything but hate.”
Protesters said that whether the blogger managed to hold the meeting in Montreal wasn’t as important as getting the message out that a culture of rape needed to end. Montreal’s mayor, Denis Coderre, also tweeted his displeasure with the blogger, saying that he wasn’t welcome and his message wasn’t protected speech.
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