Exclusive: Steven Crowder Sent Photos of His Genitals and Exchanged Drugs in ‘Super Creepy’ Workplace, Ex-Staffers Say

Steven Crowder has been a lightning rod for controversy since he launched his online show, Louder with Crowder, but behind-the-scenes his bombastic behavior has taken center stage, with allegations of abusive behavior toward his estranged wife, Hilary, as well as claims of toxic workplace conduct by former employees.

Now, the fallout from the contentious divorce as well as Crowder’s alleged workplace misconduct threatens to derail the enormously popular show that once landed its right-wing star with a $50 million offer from the Daily Wire. Mediaite spoke with five former show staffers and one source close to Crowder, under the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, who described a workplace rife with bullying, alarming and unpredictable behavior, as well as lewd sexual workplace misconduct.

Earlier this month, after repeated suspensions, Louder With Crowder decamped from YouTube, where it commanded a mighty audience of 5.8 million subscribers, to Rumble, a less regulated but much smaller alternative. The show’s audience has dwindled on Rumble, to the point where his last five shows have averaged some 288,000 viewers – a far cry from the millions Crowder once saw per episode.

The show’s viewership troubles follow years of alleged misconduct behind the scenes.

One former Louder with Crowder employee told Mediaite that during his time on the show, he received unsolicited, sexually graphic texts that included photos of Crowder’s genitalia. Those texts and images were reviewed by Mediaite.

“In the moment we dismissed it as sort of frat boy humor. In hindsight, it’s super creepy and felt groomer-ish,” the ex-employee said.

“It always felt like childish behavior in the moment that then felt predatory in hindsight,” he explained. “Like he was always testing people’s comfort levels with that kind of behavior. Because he was the boss though and he had no accountability, it just continued to happen. There was no one trusted to complain to.”

In addition to receiving unwanted sexual text messages, the former employee alleged that Crowder habitually exposed himself to other male staffers, a claim backed up by two other sources.

“In regards to exposing himself in general, to my knowledge, he only exposed himself to male staffers. It happened all the time. It was a regular occurrence. It usually happened when he was in a really good, sort of manic mood. So while we all were disgusted by it and it was never welcomed, it was preferable to him being in a bad mood and how he treated people in that state,” the former staffer said.

“Steven never explained it. We never talked about it. It would just happen, and everyone would either throw out a fake uncomfortable laugh or show clear disgust which Steven interpreted as his reward for what he did,” he continued. “The more disgusted everyone seemed, the more pleasure he seemed to get from it. It’s like he couldn’t understand that we weren’t in on his ‘joke.’”

In response to a request for comment, Louder With Crowder CEO Gerald Morgan Jr. told Mediaite: “While Louder with Crowder does not provide details on personal, private medical matters or personnel issues, it is important to note that many of these claims are missing context, clear misrepresentations or outright falsehoods.”

Another source close to Crowder also said they witnessed him expose himself to male staff in the office – but chalked it up to childish behavior.

“I have personally witnessed that on one occasion,” they said. “My personal theory is that he is a man-child and just thinks it’s funny, like boys in middle school playing pranks on each other in the locker room. That to me seems to be his mentality. Could it be a power move? Possibly,” they said. “He does virtually nothing that a grown man should do for himself.  Wash his own laundry, prepare his own food, buy his own groceries.  Most of the time someone else does all that for him. So, he’s like a child that needs to be taken care of and his humor reflects that type of childish behavior.”

Another former employee said incidents of genital exposure in the workplace were so routine that they became almost unremarkable: “The guys just talked about it amongst themselves and I don’t want to say it became ‘normal’ but it became less of a big deal.”

“So there’s a case to be made he was grooming employees,” the former employee said. “Steven may excuse some of that saying he was friends with some of his employees, but that again draws some questions. There are power dynamics at play regardless of how friendly you are with staff, and also just don’t send your penis in a message. So gross.”

A different ex-staffer said Crowder would often make uncomfortable comments during a men’s only Bible study he held in 2021.

The staffer said Crowder frequently remarked that “men used to be more physically intimate with each other,” and then “would reference a passage from the Bible where Abraham’s servant put his hand on Abraham’s inner thigh to be closer to Abraham’s descendants…balls.”

Allegations of Crowder revealing his genitalia in the workplace were first reported by The New York Post. In response, Crowder mocked the allegations during a skit on his show. The Post report came in the wake of the publication of Ring video footage from Crowder’s home which showed him berating his then-pregnant wife saying, “I will fuck you up.” The two are now embroiled in a bitter divorce.

Yet Crowder’s alleged penchant for exhibitionism and angry outbursts are only a portion of the inappropriate workplace behavior described by sources who worked for the YouTube star.

Multiple former staffers and a source close to Crowder claimed the conservative firebrand would offer and ask staffers for prescription drugs like Klonopin, an anticonvulsant used to treat seizures and is also prescribed to treat anxiety, as well as cannabis gummies and opiates like Percocet. Mediaite reviewed text exchanges between Crowder and former employees confirming these claims.

“Steven was known for passing out prescription drugs fairly freely,” one former employee alleged.

“It’s surprising to the employees when your boss is offering and/or asking for things like that,” they said. “However, because the work environment is so crazy, employees end up getting desensitized to the point where when things like that occur, it almost just seems normal. It’s not until you actually step away for a bit that you realize how wrong these types of things are.”

The former employee who received genitalia photos from Crowder shared a similar sentiment about working for the YouTube star.

“We’ve often debated this. It’s like any abusive relationship. When it’s good it can be really fun,” they said. “Most people enjoy the work itself. When it’s bad it’s really bad, but over time most become so numb to it they don’t see how messed up the place is until they get out.”

In the past, Crowder’s troubles have prompted him to step away from the show. On December 10, 2020, Crowder sent an email with the subject line, “Official Notice: Some life Decisions,” which announced to his staff his plans to retire. In the lengthy message, Crowder apologized for his behavior.

“I hope everyone here understands just how much you mean to me, and how sorry I am for falling short of my duties every time I’ve spoken out of anger or ego,” he wrote. “Everyone here deserves better. Everyone here deserves a leader they can believe in, and in real world results, I just don’t think I’m the guy for the job. I love you all very much.”

Three ex-staffers claimed Crowder checked into Carrollton Springs, a psychiatric and chemical dependency facility in Texas, shortly after that email was sent.

Before long, though, Crowder returned to the show and continued to broadcast to his large audience. Three years later, a source close to Crowder said working for the scandal-embroiled host remains “very stressful.”

“It’s like walking on eggshells most of the time,” they said. “Most employees are overworked and underpaid. Nothing is ever good enough. Office morale is extremely low and many employees have stated that they want to give up and quit.”

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