Conservative media host Steven Crowder is facing a firestorm of outrage after spewing racist and bigoted comments towards KPIX reporter Betty Yu.
The appalling remarks came on Wednesday during a segment on the 34-year-old's online show "Louder with Crowder" where he addressed San Francisco's decision to close indoor dining at its In-N-Out for failing to check customers' COVID-19 vaccination status – a story which Yu, who is Asian-American, covered for KPIX.
Crowder played a clip from Yu's report, and, immediately upon seeing her on-camera shot, reacted: “Oh, that is an aggressively Asian face.”
The rest of the segment, which can be viewed below and the full transcript can be read here, features Crowder and his co-host Dave Landau repeatedly making more deeply offensive comments towards Asian-American women.
"Where is Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz?" Crowder said at one point, comparing Yu to actress Lucy Liu, who starred in the 2000 film "Charlie's Angels" alongside Barrymore and Diaz.
"By the way, the reason I say that is because usually with the reporters, they're, like, they're kind of like Americanized Asians. So I think it's a good thing," he said later in the clip in an "attempt" to defend his commentary.
Towards the end of the segment, Landau remarked "I wish she would have kept her fan," and she could "be a Geisha."
Geishas are part of Japanese culture. Yu is Chinese-American.
KPIX released a statement condemning the "horrific and racist" comments, which was also read during their Wednesday night newscast.
"CBS Television Stations and KPIX 5 fully support our colleague Betty Yu and condemn the horrific, racist comments directed at Betty as well as the other demeaning Asian stereotypes spread during Steven Crowder’s program on Wednesday. We stand in solidarity with Betty, an accomplished journalist and valued member of our CBS family. These hateful and offensive remarks are outrageous and destructive and reaffirm the importance of our work as journalists to shine a light on anti-Asian violence and hate speech when it occurs," the statement reads.
Yu, a Bay Area native, is an award-winning journalist who’s been with the station since 2013. She graduated from both UC Berkeley and Columbia University.
Crowder just finished serving a one week suspension by YouTube for transphobic comments he made – which the company said violated its hate speech policy. The video platform also investigated Crowder for racist and homophobic language he made in 2019 towards a VOX writer, however he ultimately was not suspended.
Crowder's YouTube channel has over 5.5 million subscribers, while his Twitter has north of 1.3 million followers.
YouTube has not commented on Wednesday's incident.
Support for Yu has poured in across social media from her colleagues, fellow journalists and others angered by the despicable comments.
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