Andrew Yang is garnering backlash on Twitter for saying 'sh*t' during a campaign stop at a church in Brooklyn, with users clai...
Andrew Yang is garnering backlash on Twitter for saying 'sh*t' during a campaign stop at a church in Brooklyn, with users claiming it wasn't the place to use such language.
'I moved here as a 21-year-old law student at Columbia,' Yang, who is running in the 2021 New York City mayoral race, said at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights during a Saturday campaign event.
'I didn't know sh*t,' the candidate chuckled.
There appeared to be some nods of general agreement in the crowd of a few dozen supporters gathered to hear Yang speak.
Many Twitter users, however, were not happy with Yang's choice of words.
'So disrespectful the way you cussed in church,' one user wrote of Yang. 'You're definitely not mature enough to run the city.'
Andrew Yang made a stop at a church in Brooklyn on Saturday in his bid to be the next mayor of New York City
During the event Yang said 'sh*t', which drew criticism on Twitter
Many of the few dozen attendees at the town hall at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn appeared to nod in agreement when Yang said: 'I moved here as a 21-year-old law student at Columbia. I didn't know sh*t'
Twitter users were not happy with Yang using profanity in a church, claiming he isn't 'mature enough to run the city'
'He's in a church........ he shouldn't be cussing in a church,' another wrote.
A third tweeted: 'Saying sh*t in church...real classy'.
A spokesperson for Yang reasoned to the New York Daily News that the use of profanity was part of a campaign town hall and not a religious service.
'Andrew was having a good time with the audience at today's town hall, laughing and sharing stories,' the candidate's spokesman Jake Sporn said.
'As everyone there knew, he has incredible respect for the church and this wasn't a service.'
Yang continued in his remarks Saturday: 'It's like when you show up as a 21-year-old like, you know, it's like –', the candidate cut himself off and threw his arms up.
'I have the kind of life and career that I could never have even imagined as that 21-year-old, and every single good thing that has happened to me personally and professionally was made possible by New York City,' he said.
Yang, 46, was one of the several Democrats who ran in the 2020 presidential primary. He ended his race on February 11, 2020 and endorsed now President Joe Biden.
Now he is vying to take Bill de Blasio's seat, who has served since 2014 and cannot run for a third consecutive term under current New York City law. After a four-year break, de Blasio could launch another bid for mayor if he wished.
'Wonderful meeting voters in Brooklyn Heights at St Ann's Church today! Met some phenomenal people - we will do this again!' Yang wrote with images of his speech and with supporters who came to the town hall.
The New York City mayor race has 16 Democratic candidates in the running.
Yang usually polls best and is considered the favorite so far in the crowded race, but in one survey released earlier this week Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams pulled ahead.
Most voters still say they are undecided as the June 22 Democratic primary approaches.
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