The New Yorker has dropped plans for Steve Bannon to headline its arts and politics festival after his announcement caused a storm of controversy and prompted other high-profile names to pull out. The magazine’s editor, David Remnick, had been billed to interview Donald Trump’s former chief adviser in front of an audience at the event next month but said he had “reconsidered” after an outcry from staff, readers and participants. Mr Remnick - an outspoken critic of the president - had previously promised a “combative conversation” with Mr Bannon, who he said would face “difficult questions”. But the former White House strategist’s announcement prompted an intense backlash and threats of a boycott from other panellists. Filmmaker Judd Apatow, actor Jim Carrey, and comedian John Mulaney were among the cultural heavyweights who said they would cancel scheduled appearances at the festival in New York City. “I will not take part in an event that normalises hate,” said Apatow. Carrey tweeted: “Bannon? And me? On the same program? Could never happen.” Kathryn Schulz, a Pulitzer-winning staff write at The New Yorker, said she was “beyond appalled” by the announcement of Mr Bannon’s appearance. “I have already made that very clear to David Remnick. You can, too,” she tweeted, providing the editor’s email address. In a later statement issued by The New Yorker, Mr Remnick said: “I've thought this through and talked to colleagues — and I've re-considered.” He said he had planned a “rigorous interview” in which he “put pressure on the views” of Mr Bannon, who he argued was a legitimate subject for interview because of his “enormous impact on Trump”. But he added: “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.” Mr Bannon called Mr Remnick "gutless" following the backtrack. “The reason for my acceptance was simple: I would be facing one of the most fearless journalists of his generation,” he told The New York Times. “In what I would call a defining moment, David Remnick showed he was gutless when confronted by the howling online mob.” World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire.<doc-sep>Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent opinion contributor to CNN and The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. Read more opinion pieces on CNN. (CNN) — Since leaving the White House last year, it’s clear that Steve Bannon had hoped to both make it back into the headlines in the US and appear even more influential in the eyes of Europeans. The New Yorker magazine has just granted him his wish. The magazine’s invitation to President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist and campaign CEO as the featured guest at its upcoming festival ignited such a firestorm of criticism that Editor David Remnick decided to cancel it within hours of the announcement. The entire cycle, from invitation, to controversy, to the invitation being withdrawn, amounted to a big victory for Bannon – a man who was looking very much like a has-been in America, but who likes to think of himself as a genius of historic magnitude on the global stage. If Trump is the personification of narcissism for our bizarre times, Bannon perfectly embodies 21st century megalomania. What better way to feed the man’s outsize image of himself than by turning the mere prospect of a public interview into front-page news? What better way? The interview itself. The New Yorker indeed had blundered in inviting Bannon. To be sure, his views should be openly, publicly discussed and refuted. But Bannon – a man who travels the world trying to foment a toxic, divisive form of racist nationalism – does not need a more powerful megaphone or a prominent place on the stage at a highly-regarded gathering. In announcing the invitation’s rescission, Remnick assured critics that he’d had no intention of allowing Bannon to “propel further the ‘ideas’ of white nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism and illiberalism.” Instead, he envisioned a “combative conversation.” But combating the ideology driving Bannon and his acolytes is not just an intellectual exercise. Their ideology is already destroying lives. The ferocious backlash against the invitation makes it clear that Bannon and his views are repugnant to the mainstream of America. They should remain in the fringes, even if the President has turned some of them into policy and energized the far right. Remnick revealed that he had “tried for months to get him” but that Bannon had only just agreed to this uniquely prestigious platform. Of course he did. The New Yorker should interview him for print, dissect his views, maybe even put him on a panel in the festival – one among many – where we can see his outdated ideology for the dangerous failure that history has proven it to be. 03:27 - Source: CNN Web extra: "He's the original honey badger" In the US, Bannon flamed out. The White House was not big enough for two egos. After Trump fired him, his publication, Breitbart, also ousted him. But not before Bannon turned the conservative website into “a cesspool of the alt-right,” as former Breitbart writer Ben Shapiro described it. When Trump plucked Bannon from Breitbart to run his campaign in 2016, Shapiro warned of a takeover of the Republican Party by “a movement shot through with racism and anti-Semitism.” Bannon’s anti-establishment revolution all but fizzled in the US, with high-profile candidacies rejected by voters and wealthy donors withdrawing support. That’s when Bannon took his show on the road. Shunned in America, he decamped to Europe, the birthplace of white nationalism. It is here where the 20th century version of the ideology now espoused by Bannon and like-minded politicians had its day in the sun, and proceeded to blot it out. It is here where the creed of “blood and soil” – racially based nationalism made famous in Germany and repeated by Americans in Charlottesville last year – proved beyond any need for further empirical experimentation that it is not just a failure, but catastrophically dangerous. Bannon’s self-regard as a world-changing intellectual and revolutionary leader is being tested beyond US shores. He plans to campaign and strategize with far-right European parties ahead of next year’s European Parliament elections, threatening European democracy. He’s already close to prominent far-right figures across the continent. Not everyone thinks he will be successful, but there is no question that some of Bannon’s ideological soul-mates are making gains in Europe. The far right AfD has gained ground in Germany, and we have seen the street violence that predictably goes with the ideology. Bannon has praised Hungary’s President Victor Orban as a hero, even as he dismantles the foundations of open democracy. Here in Italy, Bannon has found his greatest source of satisfaction. The country now has Western Europe’s first modern populist government. Bannon claims he helped bring together the far-right League party of Matteo Salvini with the populist Five Star movement, so they could take over the government. Salvini, who is a big fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin – a common sentiment among nationalists – now serves as interior minister, but he is really the power behind a weak compromise prime minister. Salvini’s slogan was a Trumpian, “Italians first,” an epigram for a campaign powered by anti-immigrant rhetoric and attacks against the “filthy” European Union. Salvini now wants to conduct a census of Roma (Gypsies), saying “We need a mass cleansing, street by street, piazza by piazza, neighborhood by neighborhood.” Next on Bannon’s megalomaniacal plans for world revolution is Australia, which he claims is ripe for an uprising. “Australia,” he told an interviewer, “is at the tip of the spear on this.” In the US, Bannon’s star has dimmed even inside the alt-right. Perhaps they noticed he got a little big for his unfashionable britches. If Trump got tired of him, they could only embrace the President’s position. Bannon is not yet a big figure in Europe. Sure, nationalist ideas have gained ground, but he is not the leader of a global movement, however much he would like to be. Making him a headliner for major events, whether by the New Yorker or another one later this month by Britain’s Economist magazine, only serves to promote him personally and propagate his rancid worldview. By all means debate his ideas, unmask their sophistry and empty promises, but don’t turn up his microphone. Don’t give him the biggest chair on the highest stage.<doc-sep>When The New Yorker announced that Steve Bannon — the man who mainstreamed white nationalism as a former Donald Trump adviser — would headline its New Yorker Festival, the internet responded with a collective, "Are you kidding me?" Then, celebrities slated to appear at the event started pulling out on Twitter. 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 Bannon? And me? On the same program? Could never happen. — Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) 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 That appeared to be the last straw. On Monday evening, The New Yorker announced that Bannon wouldn't be welcome at the festival after all. SEE ALSO: Steve Bannon is headlining the New Yorker Festival and readers are outraged David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, explained his decision in a lengthy statement. "Today, The New Yorker announced that, as part of our annual Festival, I would conduct an interview with Bannon," he wrote. "The reaction on social media was critical and a lot of the dismay and anger was directed at me and my decision to engage him. Some members of the staff, too, reached out to say that they objected to the invitation, particularly the forum of the festival." A statement from David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, explaining his decision to no longer include Steve Bannon in the 2018 New Yorker Festival. pic.twitter.com/opayiw5GQ2 — The New Yorker (@NewYorker) September 3, 2018 Remnick added that, unlike for interviews, the publication pays for travel and lodging for festival guests, which was a problem for New Yorker staffers and readers alike. "I don’t want well-meaning readers and staff members to think that I’ve ignored their concerns," he wrote. "I’ve thought this through and talked to colleagues — and I’ve re-considered. I’ve changed my mind." "I've changed my mind" Sooo, we're good? Not really. Now, white nationalists get to play their favorite game, portraying Bannon as a victim of PC culture and the mainstream media. This could have been avoided. The New Yorker just needed to ignore Bannon, and not offer him a platform in the first place. Sadly, after the magazine tried to right its wrong, the damage was already done.<doc-sep>
2ND UPDATE, 6:50 PM: Never one to mince words, Steve Bannon has fired back in his battle with The New Yorker. After being scheduled as a headliner of the October 5-7 event, the former White House Chief Strategist was disinvited after a slew of people including Judd Apatow, Jim Carrey and John Mulaney said they wouldn’t participate if Bannon was part of it. The ex-Breitbart chief fired back In a statement to tonight. “The reason for my acceptance was simple: I would be facing one of the most fearless journalists of his generation,” Bannon told the paper from Venice, where he is taking in a screeening of American Dharma, a new Errol Morris documentary about Bannon. “In what I would call a defining moment, David Remnick showed he was gutless when confronted by the howling online mob.” UPDATED 3:47 PM PT: As the backlash quickly flooded Twitter, the New Yorker Festival has announced that they have dropped Steve Bannon as a headliner at the fest. New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Kathryn Schulz took to Twitter once again to confirm the announcement of the fest dropping Bannon. “Thanks to everybody for the unequivocal public response,” she wrote. “David Remnick has just informed the staff that the [Steve] Bannon event has been canceled. Looks like clean-up process of this messy incident has begun. Thanks to everybody for the unequivocal public response. David Remnick has just informed the staff that the Steven Bannon event has been canceled. — Kathryn Schulz (@kathrynschulz) September 3, 2018 PREVIOUS: That didn’t take long. Just hours after it was revealed that The New Yorker Festival had invited Steve Bannon as a headline interviewee, some high-profile names are withdrawing from the event. Judd Apatow, Jim Carrey and John Mulaney are among those to tweet that they will not be participating. Apatow wrote he would “not take part in an event that normalizes hate.” (See the tweets below). Earlier, New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Kathryn Schulz had said she was “appalled” by Bannon’s inclusion and encouraged likeminded people to email the magazine. PREVIOUS, 1:28PM PT: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s controversial former chief strategist, has been set as a headliner during the upcoming New Yorker Festival — and some folks are calling foul. That includes Pulitzer Prize winning staff writer Kathryn Schulz who tweeted, “I love working for @NewYorker, but I’m beyond appalled by this” and suggested those who feel likewise should email the magazine. (See more reactions below.) It’s been a little more than a year since Bannon was ousted from the White House, although he’s never been far from the public eye, and today he’s trending on social media as the likes of Ava DuVernay and Chelsea Clinton weigh in on The New Yorker‘s invitation. (Bannon also features in a new documentary by Errol Morris which is debuting at the Venice Film Festival this week.) NYer Editor David Remnick, however, told the New York Times, “I have every intention of asking (Bannon) difficult questions and engaging in a serious and even combative conversation.” The event is held in various venues across the city — Bannon’s interview will be at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. It also features voices from the arts who include Jim Carrey, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Zadie Smith and Janet Mock — making Bannon seem even more of a square peg. Here’s what folks are saying: 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? Could never happen. — Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) September 3, 2018 I apologize to Susan Morrison as I was really looking forward to our conversation. And I look forward to future @NewYorker Fests & other public, even heated, debates between different voices. But hard pass on this amateur-night sonofabitch. — John Mulaney (@mulaney) September 3, 2018 I was scheduled to appear at The New Yorker Festival in a conversation with @MJSchulman whom I love dearly. After learning of the inclusion of Steve Bannon, I am respectfully saying fuck that. Peace and love!