High-profile figures on both sides of the aisle have chimed in on the case.

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

The dispute among Maza, YouTube, and Crowder quickly gained attention, becoming political and personal.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York retweeted Maza, adding "Bigotry + disinformation campaigns are often the most 'engaging' (& rewarded) due to their inflammatory nature."

The Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon, who is gay, retweeted Maza saying "people still get constantly harassed online just for being LGBTQ+."

Maza posted that he had received ramped-up negative attention, saying he was receiving a flood of death threats and harassment and highlighting that a "Carlos Maza is a f-g" shirt had gone on sale online, an imitation of a "socialism is for f-gs" shirt that Crowder sold.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas brought attention to the debate, commenting: "This is ridiculous. YouTube is not the Star Chamber — stop playing God & silencing those voices you disagree with. This will not end well."

Maza condemned Cruz for supporting Crowder, writing, "A U.S. senator is coming to the defense of someone who spent two years calling me a 'lispy queer,'" to which Cruz responded: "Sigh. This individual claims to be a 'journalist.' Then he throws a fit & demands that YouTube CENSOR views he doesn't like. Here's a crazy idea: if you don't like what @scrowder says, ARGUE AGAINST HIM."

YouTube also faced criticism from Glenn Greenwald, a prominent gay journalist, in an appearance on Tucker Carlson's Fox News program, where he frequently provides perspectives that flummox progressives. "YouTube caved in," Greenwald said, defending Crowder. "Not in defense of the marginalized person, but in defense of the powerful one, the one who despite being gay and Latino works for a major media conglomerate."