Gavin McInnes

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Gavin McInnes
Gavin-McInnes-2015.png
McInnes in 2015
Born Gavin Miles McInnes
(1970-07-17) July 17, 1970 (age 53)
Hitchin, England, U.K.
Residence Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Citizenship British, Canadian
Alma mater Concordia University
Occupation Entrepreneur, writer, comedian, actor, commentator, columnist
Home town Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Spouse(s) Emily Jendrisak (m. 2005)
Children 3

Gavin Miles McInnes (/məˈkɪnᵻs/; born July 17, 1970) is a Canadian writer, actor, comedian, co-founder of Vice Media (which he departed in 2008),[1] and the host of The Gavin McInnes Show on Compound Media. He is a contributor for The Rebel Media and Taki's Magazine, and was a frequent guest on television programs on Fox News and TheBlaze.[2] The co-founder in 1994, and long-running editor (until 2008), of Vice Magazine, [3] McInnes has been called "the Godfather of the Hipster movement"[4] and "one of hipsterdom's primary architects".[5]

Since leaving Vice McInnes has become increasingly known as a right-wing provocateur[6] and media figure,[7] while also being called a "troll".[8] He is the co-founder of a "pro-Western fraternal association" known as the Proud Boys.[9]

Early life

McInnes was born in Hitchin, England, to Scottish parents, James and Loraine McInnes.[10] His family immigrated to Canada when McInnes was four.[11] He attended Ottawa’s Earl of March Secondary School, studied English literature at Carleton University and received a BA degree at Concordia University in 1991.[12] As a teen, McInnes played in the Ottawa punk band Anal Chinook.[13] As an adult, McInnes immigrated to the US from Canada.

Career

McInnes co-founded Vice in 1994 with Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi.[3] His role as an editor at Vice led to him being referred to as "the Godfather of hipsterdom"[4] and one of the "primary architects of hipsterdom".[5] He occasionally contributed articles to Vice, including The VICE Guide to Happiness[14] and The VICE Guide to Picking Up Chicks,[15] and co-authored two Vice books: The Vice Guide to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll,[16] and Vice Dos and Don'ts: 10 Years of VICE Magazine's Street Fashion Critiques.[17] McInnes was featured in a 2003 New York Times article about Vice magazine expressing his political views.[18] In an interview in the New York Press, McInnes said that he was pleased that most Williamsburg hipsters are white.[18] McInnes later claimed in a letter to Gawker that the interview was done as a prank intended to ridicule "baby boomer media like The Times".[19] After he became the focus of a letter-writing campaign by a black reader, Vice apologized for McInnes's comments.[18] In 2006, he was featured in The Vice Guide to Travel with actor and comedian David Cross in China.[20] He left Vice in 2008 due to "creative differences".[1] In a 2013 interview with The New Yorker, McInnes claimed his split with Vice was about the increasing influence of corporate advertising on Vice's content, stating that "Marketing and editorial being enemies had been the business plan."[21]

In 2008, McInnes created the website StreetCarnage.com. He also co-founded an advertising agency called Rooster where he serves as creative director.[22] In 2009, McInnes convinced a journalist at The Village Voice that he had been knocked out after losing a challenge to an MMA fighter.[23] The footage was actually an outtake from a failed TV pilot.[24] In 2010, McInnes convinced a journalist at Gawker that he had eaten a bowl of urine-soaked corn flakes after not winning their "Hipster of the Decade" competition.[25] The footage was actually an outtake from a collection of comedy sketches called Gavin McInnes Is a Fucking Asshole.[26]

McInnes was featured in Season 3 of the Canadian reality TV show Kenny vs Spenny, as a judge in the "Who is Cooler?" episode. In 2010, McInnes was approached by Adult Swim and asked to play the part of Mick, an anthropomorphic Scottish soccer ball, in the short-lived Aqua Teen Hunger Force spin-off Soul Quest Overdrive.[27] After losing a 2010 pilot contest to Cheyenne Cinnamon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge, six episodes of Soul Quest Overdrive were ordered, with four airing in Adult Swim's 4 AM DVR Theater block on May 25, 2011 before quickly being cancelled. McInnes jokingly blamed the show's cancellation on the other cast members (Kristen Schaal, David Cross, and H. Jon Benjamin) not being "as funny" as him.[28]

An occasional standup comedian, McInnes directed a documentary on his standup comedy tour in 2013's The Brotherhood of the Traveling Rants.[29] For the film, McInnes faked a serious car accident. The year before (2012), he published a book titled How to Piss in Public.[30] In 2013, McInnes starred in the independent film How to Be a Man, which premiered at Sundance Next Weekend.[31] He has also played supporting roles in other films including 2010's Soul Quest Overdrive and 2015's Creative Control and One More Time.

In October 2013, McInnes was interviewed by The Huffington Post on a panel about masculinity. He said that "people would be happier if women would stop pretending to be men", and that feminism "has made women less happy".[32] He explained that "We've trivialized childbirth and being domestic so much that women are forced to pretend to be men. They're feigning this toughness, they're miserable."[33] A heated argument ensued with University of Miami School of Law professor Mary Anne Franks.[34]

In August 2014, McInnes was asked to take an indefinite leave of absence as chief creative officer of Rooster, following online publication at Thought Catalog of an essay about transphobia titled "Transphobia is Perfectly Natural"[35] that sparked a call to boycott the company. In response, Rooster issued a statement, saying in part: "We are extremely disappointed with his actions and have asked that he take a leave of absence while we determine the most appropriate course of action."[36] McInnes defended the article by saying "All I was saying was transsexuals have a huge suicide rate", and calling the reaction "fake hysteria".[37]

In June 2015, Anthony Cumia announced that McInnes will be hosting a show on his network, therefore retiring the Free Speech podcast. The Gavin McInnes Show premiered on Compound Media on June 15 and airs Monday through Thursday at 10:30 A.M EST. McInnes is a contributor to Canadian conservative portal The Rebel Media and a regular on Fox News' Red Eye, The Greg Gutfield Show, and The Sean Hannity Show. He writes for the web magazine Taki's Magazine,[38] and previously wrote for TruthRevolt,[39] Death and Taxes,[40] The Federalist,[41] American Renaissance[42] and VDARE.[43]

He has also argued that then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to "ban Muslims from returning to America is brash and bold, but it's also what we need in this day and age."[44]

On February 2, 2017, in an episode of his YouTube show The Rebel, McInnes announced his resignation from Fox News.[45]

McInnes was accused of antisemitism in March 2017 when, during a trip to Israel with The Rebel, McInnes made controversial comments about the Holocaust and also alleged Jews of being responsible for the Holodomor and the Treaty of Versailles. He subsequently claimed his comments were meant to be humourous. McInnes also produced a satirical video for Rebel called "Ten Things I Hate about Jews", later retitled "Ten Things I Hate About Israel", which also resulted in accusations of antisemitism.[46][47][6][48]

Personal life

In 2005, McInnes married Manhattan-based publicist and consultant Emily Jendrisak,[10] who is of Native American descent.[49] McInnes said in 2013 that after being an atheist most of his life, fatherhood made him believe in God and he became Catholic. He has three children.[50]

McInnes adheres to libertarianism. He has referred to himself as a "western chauvinist" and started a men's organization called Proud Boys who swear their allegiance to this cause[51][52] In a 2003 New York Times profile, McInnes stated: "I don't want our culture diluted. We need to close the borders now and let everyone assimilate to a Western, English-speaking way of life." [53] He previously wrote for VDARE, a white nationalist website.[54][55]

As a Catholic, McInnes is a member of the Knights of Columbus.[56]

Publishing history

  • The Vice Guide to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll (Warner Books, 2003)
  • Vice Dos and Don'ts: 10 Years of VICE Magazine's Street Fashion Critiques (Grand Central, 2004)
  • Street Boners: 1,764 Hipster Fashion Jokes (Grand Central, 2009)
  • How to Piss in Public: From Teenage Rebellion to the Hangover of Adulthood (Scribner, 2012)
  • The Death of Cool: From Teenage Rebellion to the Hangover of Adulthood (Paperback version of How to Piss in Public) (Scribner, 2013)

Filmography

  • Kenny vs Spenny: Episode "Who is Cooler" (2006) – as himself (guest judge)
  • Vice Guide to Travel (2006) – as himself
  • Sophie Can Walk (2008) – as himself
  • Asshole (2009) – as himself
  • A Million in the Morning (2010) – as host
  • Soul Quest Overdrive (2010) – as Mick
  • How to Be a Man (2013) – as Mark McCarthy
  • The Brotherhood of the Traveling Rants (2013) – as himself
  • Creative Control (2015) – as Scott
  • One More Time (2015) – as Record Producer
  • Long Nights Short Mornings (2016) – as Comedian

References

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  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Baron, Zach. "Gavin McInnes Gets Knocked the Fuck Out," Village Voice (May 5, 2009).
  24. ↑ "The Immersionist with Gavin McInnes," Relevant Pictures. Accessed April 5, 2011.
  25. ↑ Kamer, Foster. "Hipster of the Decade Loser Gavin McInnes Accepts 'Award' by Eating Bowl of Pissed-In Cereal," Archived July 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Gawker (January 2, 2010).
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Grant, Drew. "Gavin McInnes Wrecks Car, 'Loses' Best Friend in An Attempt to Win Back Dignity After Observer Punking (Video)," The Observer (March 27, 2012)
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Click "Continue" link at the very bottom of the warning page to view original article.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Gavin McInnes American Renaissance author page
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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