AKRON, Ohio - The Akron-Summit County Public Library announced on Tuesday it had canceled a program by author, journalist and frequent Rolling Stone contributing writer Matt Taibbi.

The Nov. 9 program was on Taibbi's new book, "I Can't Breathe," about 43-year-old Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by members of the New York City Police Department.

The Akron Main Library's cancellation, however, was in response to content published in 2000, in a book titled "The Exile: Sex, Drugs and Libel in the New Russia." Taibbi co-wrote the book with another Rolling Stone contributor, Mark Ames. "The Exile" is about their time living as ex-patriots, editing an English-language newspaper in Russia.

"The Exile," which was billed as a non-fiction book, includes misogynistic -- and occasionally sexually charged -- passages in which Taibbi and Ames demean women and brag about behavior that could be described as sexual assault.

Taibbi now says the book was actually satire and a work of fiction, and has issued a nearly 3,000-word apology on Facebook. He denied assaulting or harassing women, but admitted that the newspaper and his book featured "gratuitous viciousness" and " often demeaning and misogynistic" content.

"I wish I could go back to my younger self and say, 'What you are doing is wrong, stupid, and hurtful to women," Taibbi wrote, adding that he was "genuinely sorry for my bad judgment and insensitivity in those years."

But the public backlash against him continues, set against the backdrop of the nationwide "Me Too" movement, in which women are outing men who have exploited and harassed them sexually. It is currently overshadowing "I Can't Breathe," and other notable pieces Taibbi has written on everything from student debt to the gun lobby.

Akron-Summit County Library Deputy Director Pam Hickson-Stevenson said many Akron residents contacted the library to speak out against Taibbi's appearance here.

"The overwhelming and chief concern was this is a very serious revelation about very serious topics," she said.

The decision to cancel Taibbi's appearance was difficult, Hickson-Stevenson said, and made over several days of deliberation between library administrators and trustees.

On Tuesday, the library sent a notification via email to newsletter subscribers, and posted the cancellation on Facebook, writing, "Over the past week, Mr. Taibbi's writings about his time in Russia have come under scrutiny, particularly a book he co-authored in 2000 that contains graphic misogynistic imagery involving the sexual exploitation of women."

The Main Event program scheduled for Thursday, November 9 at Main Library, featuring author Matt Taibbi, has been... Posted by Akron-Summit County Public Library on Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Facebook commenters are both supporting and decrying the decision.

"Shame on you," wrote a commenter. "To ignore a man's current contribution to the discussion of race relations among other political topics because of something said half a lifetime ago is disgraceful."

"This is neither censorship nor suppression of speech," wrote another. "The library invited him and changed its mind. He can go anywhere he wants and say what he wants. The library is under no obligation host him."

Some commenters questioned why the library wouldn't allow Taibbi to appear to answer questions about his earlier writing in a public forum.

"We could not overcome the feeling that the previous writings about the sexual exploitation of women didn't have a place on the stage at the library," Hickson-Stevenson said.

Taibbi's work is available at the library in print and some online, she said. The decision to cancel the writer's appearance was made in terms of his public appearance only and has no bearing on the library carrying his work.

"We invited him and in light of the information and concerns expressed by members of the community, we could not reconcile the previous writing with his appearance here at the library," she said.

The library's decision also was not intended to quell discussions on race in America. The Main Library in downtown Akron will host "A Community Discussion on Race Relations," organized and moderated by Mike McIntyre of NPR station 90.3 WCPN. on Monday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m.

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