Ted Cruz criticised for defending right-wing YouTuber who repeatedly used homophobic slurs

Ted Cruz is being called out on Twitter after he criticised YouTube's demonetisation of the account of a homophobic and far-right commentator.

The senator was defending Steven Crowder, a Canadian American commentator who hosts Louder with Crowder on his own website and has caused controversy after continuously harassing gay people. On Wednesday, YouTube announced that it will "suspend" Crowder, meaning that while he will still be able to stay on the site, he won't be able to collect ad revenue from it. It added:

We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies.

Then, without anyone asking, Cruz budged in, arguing that the company's decision was a free-speech issue. He tweeted:

This is ridiculous. YouTube is not the Star Chamber - stop playing God & silencing those voices you disagree with. This will not end well.

YouTube's decision came after Vox Media journalist, Carlos Maza, tweeted about all the abuse he received from Crowder. In a series of screenshots, he explained how the far-right commentator used homophobic slurs against him, calling him everything from "lipsy queer" to "the gay Mexican from Vox". At one point Crowder even mocks Maza's sexuality, imitating oral sex with his microphone.

Cruz, who in 2016 backed the controversial bathroom bill, demanded that YouTube explain why the banned Crowder. But the senator was quickly criticised:

On Wednesday, YouTube also announced that it will start removing any videos that relate to extremism and white supremacy.

HT Gizmodo

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