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CBS Reporter Betty Yu Shocked By 'Casualness Of Racism' In Steven Crowder's Comments

October 22, 2021 / 2:21 PM EDT / CBS Miami

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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX-TV) -- KPIX-TV reporter Betty Yu is speaking out after racist remarks about her were posted by conservative YouTube host Steven Crowder.

Crowder made the comments during a segment of his online show Wednesday. It began as an attack on the dispute between San Francisco health officials and In-N-Out burgers over a local COVID ordinance to check customers' vaccination status.

"Oh, that is an aggressively Asian face," Crowder exclaimed at one point, referring to Yu.

In an interview Thursday evening, KPIX reporter Andrea Nakano asked Yu if this incident was "another example of how prevalent racism is in the United States? Do you have hope that one day you're not going to be looked at as an aggressive Asian face?"

"You know, it's going to take a lot of time because -- here we are in 2021 -- and what's triggering about that is what gave this guy the authority to decide what's Americanized? That's triggering and that's racist. When I look back, what is most shocking to me is the casualness of racism. This kind of unbridled hatred and mockery. All of it."

Crowder is a conservative host with more than a million followers. YouTube recently suspended him for a week for making disparaging comments about the transgender community. Crowder went after Betty during a show on the conservative media site The Blaze.

Nakano asked Yu why she decided to speak out.

"That option was certainly there and I did think about this but all of this made me think about those who don't have the support of a corporation, colleagues and other people in the industry. It made me think about people who don't have this sort of outlet to not just air their grievances but to really take racists to task."

In the past 24 hours Yu said journalists from across the country have been calling, texting, e-mailing and posting on social media to support her.

"I thought it was really important to not be passive given the last 18 months or so you and I and the station have spent covering these attacks on Asians, particularly here in the Bay Area," Yu said.