'Culture of sexism': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hits back at Republican Ted Yoho's derogatory slur

Democratic Party Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday admonished a Republican Congressman for allegedly hurling a sexist slur at her on the steps of US capitol.

“He called me disgusting, he called me crazy, he called me out of my mind,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a nearly 10-minute speech on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“In front of reporters, Representative Yoho called me — and I quote — a ‘f****** ****h,’” she said.

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“What we are seeing is that incidents like these are happening in a pattern,” she said. “This is a pattern of an attitude towards women and dehumanisation of others.”

“All of us have had to deal with this in some form,” she continued. “I have waited tables in restaurants. I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Yoho’s.

Yoho has not admitted or denied using the phrase but on Wednesday he denied directing that phrase toward Ocasio-Cortez. He said he nevertheless apologized for the "abrupt manner of the conversation."

"Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I`m very cognizant of my language. Offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleague, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding. I cannot apologize for my passion, for loving my God, my family and my country," he said on the House floor.

Ocasio-Cortez`s comments were the latest in an escalating feud that started on Monday, when "The Hill" newspaper said that one of its reporters overheard Yoho`s comments.

(With inputs from agencies)