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Steven Crowder
Crowder in 2019
Born	Steven Blake Crowder (1987-07-07) July 7, 1987 (age 37) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Citizenship	Canada · United States
Occupation(s)	Political commentator, media host, comedian
Years active	1999–present
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Hilary Crowder (m. 2012)
Website	louderwithcrowder.com

Steven Blake Crowder (/ˈkraʊdər/; born July 7, 1987) is an American-Canadian conservative political commentator, media host and comedian. He hosts Louder with Crowder, a daily political podcast, as well as the largest independent news channel on YouTube, with over 5.03 million subscribers. He is particularly notable for a recurring segment called "Change My Mind". He is also a former contributor at Fox News.

In June 2019, Crowder's YouTube videos were investigated over his repeated use of racist and homophobic slurs to describe journalist Carlos Maza. YouTube did not suspend the channel and said it did not violate the site's policies, but demonetized the account the following day, citing community guidelines. In August 2020, his channel was re-monetized after Crowder addressed his behavior and content. In March 2021, his channel was once again demonetized, for violating YouTube's presidential election integrity policy.

Early life

Crowder was born on July 7, 1987 in Detroit, Michigan. Crowder's mother was French Canadian, and at the age of 3, his family moved to the Montreal suburb of Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada where he would live for the rest of his childhood. Crowder attended Centennial Regional High School, and at the age of 18, he moved back to the United States. Crowder attended two semesters at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.

Career

Early career and Fox News

Early in his career, he worked as a voice actor for the character Alan "The Brain" Powers on the children's television series Arthur. He began performing stand-up comedy at age 17. He then acted in a number of films, including the role of Doug Moore in the 2009 movie To Save a Life. From 2009 to 2012, Crowder worked for Fox News.

By 2009, Crowder regularly posted satirical videos on politically conservative media, including Pajamas Media and later at Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood. Crowder served as the master of ceremonies at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, and generated some controversy with a rap video he premiered at CPAC 2012. In October 2012, Crowder's YouTube video parodying Lena Dunham's ad endorsing Barack Obama was mentioned in the conservative magazine The American Spectator. In 2016, Crowder created a short video for the conservative media company PragerU in which he criticizes democratic socialism as being little to no different from Marxism.

December 2012 union protest

In December 2012, Crowder and members of Americans for Prosperity were involved in an altercation at a demonstration in Michigan concerning the state's recently passed right-to-work law. The incident began with an attempt by union activists to tear down the Americans for Prosperity tent, which was eventually successful. During the altercation, Crowder was punched several times by a union activist. Crowder posted an edited video of the incident to his YouTube channel that cut footage of the alleged assailant being pushed to the ground and getting back up, right before throwing the punches at Crowder. However, Fox News' broadcasts of the incident included footage of the man being pushed. The New York Times stated, "The same footage also shows that Mr. Crowder had his hand on that man's shoulder just before he tumbled to the ground, but, while the camera does not capture the whole sequence of events, it seems likely that the man was knocked to the ground as members of the two sides pushed against one other, not shoved down by Mr. Crowder." Crowder later released an unedited copy of the video.

An AFL–CIO spokesman, Eddie Vale, stated that the organization did not condone the tearing down of the Americans for Prosperity tent or the violence against Crowder and his group.

In March 2013, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III declined to press charges against anyone involved in the December 2012 altercation. According to Dunnings, his office was originally sent an edited version of the video of Crowder's altercation. However, upon reviewing the unedited version, the prosecutor's office decided not to pursue the case because the union member had acted in self-defense.

Louder with Crowder

In October 2013, Fox News ended its relationship with Crowder. This was announced shortly after Crowder made negative statements about Fox News host Sean Hannity and about Fox News. In 2017, the Louder with Crowder program became a daily program featured on Conservative Review's new streaming service, CRTV. On December 3, 2018, CRTV merged with Glenn Beck's TheBlaze, where Crowder continues to be hosted.

Crowder creates mainly comedic content and political commentary on his YouTube channel. Becca Lewis, a Stanford researcher who studies extremism on YouTube, told Bloomberg News that while Crowder stays away from expressing white nationalism directly, his channel "has some of the most overt racism of any of the shows I've looked at". Francesca Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that Crowder is "very popular, especially among young, conservative voters".

By November 2020, Crowder's YouTube channel became the largest independent news channel on YouTube, with over 5.03 million subscribers.

Change My Mind

Crowder is particularly notable for his Change My Mind segments in which he sets up a table with a sign including the phrase "Change My Mind", often on the grounds of the Texas Christian University, and invites students walking by to change his mind on a particular subject.

In early 2018, an Internet meme was generated from a photograph of Crowder seated behind a sign that read "Male Privilege is a Myth / Change My Mind". After Crowder uploaded it on his Twitter account on February 18, 2018, the photograph quickly became a means for others to change the signs about different situations, often mocking and parodying Crowder.

In June 2018, Complex rated the meme at 18 on their list of "The Best Memes of 2018 (so far)".

Investigation by YouTube

In June 2019, YouTube investigated Crowder for using racist and homophobic slurs targeting Carlos Maza in multiple videos reacting to the Vox series Strikethrough, which Maza hosts. Crowder referred to Maza as "Mr. Lispy queer", an "angry little queer", and a "gay Mexican", and mocked him with a stereotypical gay voice, sometimes while wearing a t-shirt with Che Guevara on it that said "Socialism is for f*gs ". In addition, Maza said that Crowder's fans have doxxed and harassed him.

Crowder responded with a video where he said his use of slurs was "playful ribbing" and that "it's funny, it's a comedy show". He said that the investigation was a "war we will fight to the bitter end" and that "this is an example of a giant, multinational media conglomeration ... attempting to squash a competitor". He also stated that he is opposed to doxxing and harassment. After YouTube's demonetization of his videos, Crowder stated on his Twitter account, "Vox is still going to be pissed; they're not going to be happy with this", and called the situation a brewing "Adpocalypse". He also added "their goal is to completely get rid of people" in reference to Vox.

According to an analysis by Vox Media's The Verge, Crowder's videos "routinely contain egregious violations of YouTube's policies against cyberbullying". Maza said Crowder's videos about him are "dehumanizing, and it's something I thought YouTube would be more protective about because it brands itself as being a queer space". Vox editors Lauren Williams and Joe Posner also tweeted in defence of Maza, stating "our efforts to protect Carlos and others from historically marginalized groups from being silenced or driven from the platform by incessant harassment are in line with these values", in reference to political debate and free speech. In response to this tweet, political commentator Ben Shapiro spoke out in defense of Crowder, tweeting, "This, right here, from @voxdotcom EIC Lauren Williams and Head of Video Joe Posner, is a vile lie. Maza has not been silenced in any way. The only people seeking to silence are those who demand Crowder be deplatformed because Maza's precious feelings were supposedly hurt."

YouTube concluded that the language used by Crowder "was clearly hurtful", but "the videos as posted don't violate our policies". It determined that Crowder had not encouraged his viewers to harass or dox Maza either on YouTube or other platforms and that the main point of his video was to respond to opinion. The decision to not suspend the channel drew considerable criticism. The next day, YouTube suspended the channel's monetization, blaming "a pattern of egregious actions harmed the broader community". The decision to demonetize Crowder's account was criticized by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who had previously appeared on Crowder's show.

In August 2020, YouTube re-monetized some of Crowder's content on the site after Crowder addressed his behavior and content.

In March 2021, YouTube once again demonetized Crowder's channel, for violating its presidential election integrity policy. His channel also received a one week suspension.

Personal life

Crowder describes himself as a Christian conservative, and is anti-abortion. Crowder has ADHD. He married his wife, Hilary, in August 2012, and wrote about the benefits of remaining abstinent prior to his marriage. In 2020, Crowder's wife suffered a miscarriage. Later, on January 25, 2021, he announced that they were expecting twins. In addition, Crowder said he was diagnosed with a rare, severe heart condition and was seeking treatment, including surgery.

Filmography

References

1. Steven Crowder (February 20, 2014). "Allow me to clarify. I have dual-citizenship with the USA and Canada" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 19, 2018 – via Twitter.
2. "Steven Crowder, conservative comedian, draws Prophet Muhammad on YouTube channel". Washington Times. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
3. ^ Dumas, Breck (November 13, 2020). "Steven Crowder now has the largest independent news channel on YouTube". Blaze Media. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
4. ^ Stossel, John (April 13, 2021). "Let Crowder Speak". John Stossel. Retrieved April 28, 2021 – via YouTube.
5. ^ Rosenburg, Eli (June 4, 2019). "A right-wing YouTuber hurled racist, homophobic taunts at a gay reporter. The company did nothing". Washington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
6. "YouTube Says Homophobic Harassment Doesn't Violate Its Policies". Time. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
7. Wallenstein, Andrew (June 10, 2019). "YouTube CEO Apologizes Over Handling of Homophobic Content". Retrieved January 22, 2021.
8. Nett, Danny (June 8, 2019). "Is YouTube Doing Enough To Stop Harassment Of LGBTQ Content Creators?". NPR. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
9. Ghosh, Shona (August 13, 2020). "YouTube restores Steven Crowder's ability to make cash from videos, a year after the conservative star was accused of homophobic harassment". Business Insider. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
10. Hollister, Sean. "YouTube has removed Steven Crowder from its Partner Program indefinitely". The Verge.
11. Shapiro, Ben. "Steven Crowder | The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 19". YouTube. Ben Shapiro. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
12. "THE 'LOUDERWITHCROWDER' TEAM REMEMBERS: WHERE WE WERE ON 9/11". louderwithcrowder.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
13. ^ Dickson, Caitlin (November 3, 2013). "The Unmaking of a Conservative Pundit". The Daily Beast.
14. "Behind the Voice Steven Crowder". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
15. "Pajamas TV Reporter Tracks Stimulus Spending". Hannity. Fox News. August 11, 2009.
16. "CPAC 2011: Schedule of events" (PDF). Conservative Political Action Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2012.
17. Crowder, Steven (February 13, 2012). "Stop Lying and Let Racism Die". Huffington Post.
18. Kaminsky, Ross (October 27, 2012). "Steven Crowder Wrecks Lena Dunham". American Spectator. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012.
19. Kangadis, Nick (November 1, 2016). "Prager U Video: 'Democratic Socialism is Still Socialism'". Media Research Center. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
20. Wemple, Erik (December 11, 2012). "Fox News contributor attacked at Michigan union protest". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
21. Mackey, Robert. "Selective Editing by Fox News Contributor Revealed by Fox News". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
22. "Fox News contributor releases unedited footage of fight at union rally". Fox News Channel. December 20, 2012.
23. McMorris-Santoro, Evan (December 11, 2012). "AFL–CIO: 'Of Course We Do Not Condone' Ripping Down Of AFP Tent In Michigan". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
24. Wemple, Erik (March 8, 2013). "Fox News's Steven Crowder fistfight case: No charges". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
25. Bond, Paul. "TheBlaze and CRTV Merge to Create Conservative Media Powerhouse (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
26. "Popular comic to help raise funds for county GOP women". The Courier. February 20, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
27. Bergan, Mark (October 12, 2020). "A Conservative YouTuber Thrives By Pushing Conflict With Site". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
28. "Conservative comedian changes mind, will make scaled-down appearance at UI". News Gazette. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
29. "Man defending male privilege just became the intenet's newest photoshop battle". Rare. February 24, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
30. Studios, Mashable. "The 'Change My Mind' meme is revealing a lot about the internet's strongest beliefs". Mashable. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
31. "15 examples of the Change My Mind meme that show the Distracted Boyfriend has been usurped". Independent.ie. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
32. "Steven Crowder Made a Dumb 'Male Privilege' Sign that Got Parodied". The Daily Dot. February 26, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
33. "The Best Memes of 2018 (So Far)". Complex. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
34. "Vox Host Carlos Maza Is Blasting YouTube For Not Adequately Enforcing Its Hate Speech Policies". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
35. Asarch, Steven (May 31, 2019). "Carlos Maza, a journalist for Vox, speaks out about the harassment he's received from Steven Crowder and his fans". Newsweek. Retrieved June 1, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
36. EDT, Rachel Frazin On 6/1/19 at 11:24 AM (June 1, 2019). "YouTube investigating conservative commentator Steven Crowder". TheHill. Retrieved June 3, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
37. Re, Gregg (June 5, 2019). "YouTube ends monetization of conservative commentator Steven Crowder's channel, several others after left-wing outrage". Fox News. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
38. Alexander, Julia (May 31, 2019). "YouTube investigating right-wing pundit Steven Crowder for harassing Vox.com host". The Verge. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
39. ^ "Ben Shapiro rips Vox claim that Carlos Maza, host trying to deplatform Steven Crowder, is 'silenced'". The Washington Times. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
40. Gajanan, Mahita (June 5, 2019). "YouTube Says Homophobic Harassment Targeting a Popular Host Doesn't Violate Its Policies". Time. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
41. "Update on our continued review–we have suspended this channel's monetization. We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies. More here". Twitter. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
42. Concha, Joe (June 6, 2019). "Ted Cruz throws support behind Steven Crowder: 'YouTube is not the Star Chamber'". The Hill. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
43. Ghosh, Shona (August 13, 2020). "YouTube restores Steven Crowder's ability to make cash from videos, a year after the conservative star was accused of homophobic harassment". Business Insider.
44. ^ Hollister, Sean (March 30, 2021). "YouTube has removed Steven Crowder from its Partner Program indefinitely". The Verge. Retrieved March 31, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
45. March 17, 2017. "Yes, I am a pro-life, Christian Conservative..." Twitter. Retrieved: March 8, 2019.
46. https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/594986534400565249
47. "Waiting till the wedding night—getting married the right way". Fox News. September 14, 2012.
48. "Time for an Explanation... - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

External links

• Official website
• Steven Crowder's channel on YouTube
• Steven Crowder at IMDb

• 1987 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American comedians
• American Christian writers
• American emigrants to Canada
• American male comedians
• American people of French-Canadian descent
• American YouTubers
• American male child actors
• American male voice actors
• Anglophone Quebec people
• Canadian Christians
• Canadian male comedians
• Canadian YouTubers
• Conservatism in Canada
• Commentary YouTubers
• Fox News people
• Canadian male child actors
• Canadian male voice actors
• Male YouTubers
• Male critics of feminism
• Michigan Republicans
• Blaze Media people
• News YouTubers
• YouTube channels launched in 2006
• Criticism of political correctness
• YouTube controversies
• Conservatism in the United States
• Champlain College alumni