Online campaign started to deny ‘pick-up artist’ Julien Blanc an Irish visa

19 Nov 2014

'Pickup artist' Julien Blanc. Image via YouTube

Julien Blanc is, by his own admission, the ‘most hated man in the world’ after a huge amount of vitriolic material was uncovered online featuring the self-styled ‘pick-up artist’.

As an executive coach for LA-based ‘dating advice’ company Real Social Dynamics, Blanc gives seminars that appear to endorse serious sexual assault. A particularly notorious YouTube video shows the 25-year-old telling a class that “in Tokyo, if you’re a white male, you can do what you want” before encouraging participants to forcefully pull Japanese women’s heads toward their crotches. The video later depicts him actually engaging in the behaviour.

Elsewhere, on his website, PimpingMyGame.com, Blanc claims he can teach ‘emotionally scarring’ methods to help clients persuade women to have sex with them. The blog Tinder’s Finest Bachelors, has also compiled a number of offensive messages and posts written by the Swiss-born American, including images of him with his hand around a woman’s throat.

The backlash against Blanc has included picketed protests in Melbourne that, as reported by Buzzfeed, led to his Australian visa being revoked and a scheduled seminar being cancelled. Now, with an Irish appearance penciled in for 4 June, an online campaign has been launched to put pressure on the Irish Government to follow suit.

Stand with Australia

‘Deny Julien Blanc an Irish Visa’ has so far amassed more than 4,000 online signatures via petition website Change.org. Writing on the page, campaign organisers said: “Do not associate Ireland with a man who chokes women around the world as part of his pick-up game. Please help us stand with the women of Australia, the women of America, the women of The UK and women everywhere, and do not let Ireland play host to events where men are being taught how to violate and harass women.”

“It’s not only women who are affected; Blanc’s misogynistic ‘pick up techniques’ directly exploit vulnerable men who buy into rape culture and end up believing that this is an appropriate way to behave.”

The campaign believes allowing Blanc into Ireland would legitimise sexual assault and predation. He is also scheduled to begin a UK tour in February, but according to BBC today, he has been barred from entering the country by the British Home Office after a petition to deny him a visa attracted more than 120,000 signatures.

Blanc himself has recently made steps to repair his shattered reputation. Appearing on US news channel CNN on Monday (17 November), he told host Chris Cuomo: “I’d like to apologise to anyone I’ve offended in any way. It was never my intention and I just want to put it out there. I’m extremely sorry for everything that happened.”

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

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