The social-media team behind the Merriam-Webster dictionary sure has a sense of timing.
Within an hour of conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos announcing his resignation as an editor of Breitbart News over comments about pedophilia, the official Merriam-Webster Twitter account posted the definition of “schadenfreude.”
Noting that the German-based word is a “popular lookup on our site,” the dictionary team helpfully added that it “refers to the joy you might feel at another person’s pain.”
A popular lookup on our site, 'schadenfreude' refers to the joy you might feel at another person’s pain. https://t.co/NEGz6KiFQf
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 21, 2017
On Tuesday, Yiannopoulos resigned from Breitbart in the latest fallout from his a podcast video that surfaced on Sunday in which he said some relationships between adults and 13-year-olds are consensual. The Breitbart editor and outspoken Donald Trump supporter also joked that being molested as a young teenager had made him good at oral sex.
His pedophilia comments have resulted in losing a speaking gig at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference as well as a $250,000 book deal with Simon & Schuster.
It was a rapid fall from grace for the openly gay British provocateur who has become associated with the alt-right movement and extreme advocacy for free speech.
“Breitbart News has stood by me when others caved. They allowed me to carry conservative and libertarian ideas to communities that would otherwise never have heard them. They have been a significant factor in my success. I’m grateful for that freedom and for the friendships I forged here,” Yiannopoulos said in a statement, announcing plans to start a new “independently funded” media venture.