(CNN) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday withdrew his endorsement of congressional candidate Cenk Uygur after pushback from supporters over Uygur's previous controversial comments, as well as Uygur's decision not to accept endorsements.

"As I said yesterday, Cenk has been a longtime fighter against the corrupt forces in our politics and he's inspired people all across the country," the Vermont independent said in a statement on Friday.

"However, our movement is bigger than any one person," he added. "I hear my grassroots supporters who were frustrated and understand their concerns. Cenk today said he is rejecting all endorsements for his campaign, and I retract my endorsement."

Uygur -- who had already backed Sanders' bid for president and is a candidate in the competitive race to replace Katie Hill in California's 25th Congressional District -- has built a following around his popular progressive talk show "The Young Turks," which started as a radio program before becoming a well-watched YouTube channel.

But he was forced from the group Justice Democrats in 2017 after old blog posts were unearthed in which he objectified women. He had also made controversial comments on his program, including arguing that bestiality should be legal in some cases , demeaning the sex lives of lesbians and inviting former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke for a segment about his anti-Semitic view of Judaism. Uygur has disavowed some of these remarks, saying his views have changed. He told CNN's Chris Cuomo last month that he had deleted past insensitive posts about women because they don't reflect who he is years later

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