Toronto Mayor John Tory has come out against pick-up artist Roosh V, saying his "hate speech" has "no place in our city."
Tory's comments came as Roosh V is set to deliver a seminar in the city on Aug. 15.
His tweets came after Coun. Norm Kelly said that Roosh V is "not welcome in Toronto."
Roosh V, real name Daryush Valizadeh, is a pick-up artist and speaker on men's issues who has made a name for himself with a series of statements that people have found offensive.
Among other things, he has argued to make rape legal on private property: "If rape becomes legal under my proposal, a girl will protect her body in the same manner that she protects her purse and smartphone."
Such statements have made him the subject of a petition to stop him from coming to Canada. It has gained over 41,000 signatures.
But it has not blocked his entrance to the Great White North, where he has delivered a seminar titled, "The State of Man" as part of a world tour.
For $59 per regular-priced ticket, Roosh V claims to help men "improve their intimate relationships with women and increase their overall enjoyment with life."
He was most recently in Montreal, where his appearance was criticized by Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and provincial Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee, who said his statements amount to hate speech against women.
On Friday, the night before he was set to deliver his seminar, a woman doused Roosh V with beer while he was out at a Montreal bar before he was chased away.
He held his seminar anyway, posting the following video after it was finished.
Of Toronto, he said on his website, "Judging by the radical feminists that claim Toronto as their home, I made sure to schedule Toronto as my last lecture stop, just in case I don't make it out in one piece."
The venue has not been disclosed on his site, and will only be revealed one day before the event itself.
"It is being withheld to prevent unattractive feminists from petitioning the event," Roosh V's site said.
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