Jordan Peterson media interviews are pulled after a piece he calls ‘cruel’ was published in the Sunday Times – Toronto Star

Whenever Jordan Peterson speaks, controversy seems to follow.

Fallout from a Jan. 30 Sunday Times article on the Toronto author and academic has led to the indefinite postponement of at least some interviews, including with the Star, for his upcoming book Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life, which is set to release on March 2.

The book is the followup to his wildly popular 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos, which was published in 2018.

His publisher, Penguin Random House, cancelled the interview with the Star on Tuesday, after Peterson posted reaction to the Times piece on his website. The publisher did not respond to a request for further comment.

The move comes after a lengthy piece written by journalist Decca Aitkenhead, following a three-hour interview with Peterson and his daughter, Mikhaila, that delved into, among other things, Petersons health issues, issues his daughter describes as like a horror movie.

Following the publication of the piece titled Jordan Peterson on his depression, drug dependency and Russian rehab hell Peterson wrote on his blog that he originally agreed to the interview because he was motivated by a desire not so much to publicize the book as to clear the stage so that the book might be made the central topic of any other interviews I might give around its launch time (instead of issues such as my health).

He has mostly been out of the public eye for the past 18 months or so as hes dealt with his health problems, with Mikhaila posting updates about him and Peterson posting the occasional video on his YouTube channel. More recently, he has begun to venture into the public eye again, including speaking with actor and now author Matthew McConaughey on his podcast.

Aitkenhead begins the piece by saying, I thought this was going to be a normal interview with Jordan Peterson. After speaking with him at length, and with his daughter for even longer, I no longer have any idea what it is. I dont know if this is a story about drug dependency, or doctors, or Peterson family dynamics or a parable about toxic masculinity. Whatever else it is, its very strange.

After the piece came out, Peterson posted on his blog a letter he sent to Sunday Times acquisitions editor Megan Agnew saying: I am frankly stunned by the degree of sheer cruelty and spite manifested by your journalist, Decca Aitkenhead. He also posted an audio recording of the interview, which ran to almost three hours long.

I would have fared no worse had I discussed my affairs with an avowed enemy, Peterson added.

Peterson originally rocketed to public notice over his objection to transgender human rights legislation and his refusal to use preferred pronouns for trans students. He garnered a massive YouTube following and, after the publication of the multinational bestselling 12 Rules For Life, did speaking engagements around the world.

Talking about the health strain Peterson had been under, Aitkenhead asked him what he thinks about the prospect of his upcoming book and all the demands (and opportunities) that entails. He said, Im ambivalent about it. I cant judge the book properly. I didnt write it under optimal circumstances, to say the least. And so Im unsure, I cant tell, I cant make an adequate judgement (sic) of its quality. I know, I believe that my capacity for editing wasnt what it could be. But that was offset to some degree by the fact that I was able to filter what I was writing through the lens of my illness and to eradicate everything that wasnt sustaining for me while I was in such trouble.

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While official interviews set up through his publisher seem to have been cancelled, Peterson did reach out to at least one podcaster who had been friendly to him in the past, The Rubin Report host Dave Rubin, whom he asked via Twitter time to talk again? Your show?

In November 2020, when Penguin Random House Canada first announced it was publishing this second Peterson book, a number of employees went public with their anger, with one employee saying, My company just claims he has conservative views but that he doesnt necessarily agree with these alt-right groups. No matter what his intention is with this book, his supporters still have these beliefs. By publishing this book, youre supporting this and fuelling the fire by giving him a platform.

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Jordan Peterson media interviews are pulled after a piece he calls 'cruel' was published in the Sunday Times - Toronto Star