CJ Pearson, the 13-year-old YouTube star, has renounced conservatism, CNN reports.
The teenager has used his online platform to criticize President Barack Obama’s policies and to promote conservative viewpoints. He has a huge audience of more than 100,000 Facebook followers and nearly 19,000 YouTube channel subscribers.
On Friday, Pearson expressed several concerns to the network about where the GOP stands on certain issues.
In an email to CNN, he stated: “I was tired of being a champion of a party that turned a blind eye to racial discrimination. Tired of being a champion of any cause that denies equal rights to every American. Tired of being a champion of a party that doesn’t care about the issues important to young people.”
The Georgia teen’s change of heart started after a conversation with a friend about why he failed to denounce racial discrimination. Pearson was concerned that pointing out racism would displease his followers, he admitted to CNN.
“Over the past few days, I thought about essentially how I don’t want people to follow me because I’m that anti-Obama kid, or who called out Hillary Clinton or who took Bernie Sanders to task,” he said.
But the real eye-opener came after he viewed the video of a white Chicago policeman gunning down Laquan McDonald.
Earlier this month, Pearson stepped down from his position as chairman of Teens for Ted, the Dallas Morning News reported. He said that presidential candidate Ted Cruz has not fully addressed issues affecting young people.
Read more at CNN and the Dallas Morning News.