
Image source: YouTube screenshot
'This is nuts'
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) voiced his support for Blaze Media conservative comedian Steven Crowder on Thursday, saying that YouTube's decision to demonetize his page — which boasts nearly four million followers — is "ridiculous."
YouTube announced on Twitter Wednesday that it would no longer allow Crowder's page to generate income as a result of accusations of engaging in allegedly homophobic language.
The Google-owned video platform had been under pressure after Vox writer Carlos Maza organized a campaign attacking the conservative comedian for going on "homophobic" attacks.
"Update on our continued review–we have suspended this channel's monetization," the tweet stated. "We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies."
On Thursday, Cruz tweeted, "YouTube is not the Star Chamber — stop playing God & silencing these voices you disagree with. This will not end well."
The Texas Republican also pointed out comedian Samantha Bee's 2018 comments about Ivanka Trump being a "feckless c***" are a prime example of hypocrisy.
"This is nuts," he wrote. "This is nuts. YouTube needs to explain why @scrowder is banned, but @iamsambee ('Ivanka is a feckless c***.') & @JimCarrey ('look at my pretty picture of Gov. Kay Ivey being murdered in the womb') aren't. No coherent standard explains it. Here's an idea: DON'T BLACKLIST ANYBODY."
Maza fired back at Cruz's defense of Crowder in an angry tweet.
"A U.S. senator is coming to the defense of someone who spent two years calling me a 'lispy queer,'" Maza wrote. "They do this because they know that @YouTube cares more about looking fair to right-wingers than it does about stopping hate speech and harassment."