Candace Amber Owens Farmer ( Owens; born April 29, 1989) is an American
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
author, talk show host, political commentator, and activist.
Initially critical of United States President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
and the
Republican Party, Owens has been recognized in part for her
pro-Trump activism as a black woman,
in addition to her criticism of
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
On several occasions she has claimed that the effects of
white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
and
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
are exaggerated, especially when compared to other issues facing
Black Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
. She worked for the conservative advocacy group
Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA (TPUSA), or Turning Point, is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. It was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. TPUSA's ...
between 2017 and 2019 as its communications director.
In 2021, she joined ''
The Daily Wire
''The Daily Wire'' is an American conservative news website and media company founded in 2015 by political commentator Ben Shapiro and film director Jeremy Boreing. The company is a major publisher on Facebook, and produces podcasts such as ' ...
'', where she hosts ''Candace'', a political
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
.
Owens has promoted
conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
,
mostly through her social media profiles and television & media appearances. She has expressed
anti-lockdown views and
anti-vaccination opinions during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Early life and education
With her siblings, Owens was raised in
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
, by her grandparents from around the age of 11 or 12, after her parents divorced. She is the third of four children.
She said her paternal grandfather Robert Owens, a
Black American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, was born in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
.
Owens is also of
Caribbean American
Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...
heritage through her grandmother who is originally from
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas ( da, Sankt Thomas) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea which, together with Saint John, Water Island, Hassel Island, and Saint Croix, form a county-equivalent and constituent district of the United States Virgin ...
. She is a graduate of
Stamford High School.
In 2007, while a 17-year-old senior in high school, Owens received three racist
death threat
A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...
voicemail messages, totaling two minutes, from a group of white male classmates.
Joshua Starr, the city's superintendent of schools, listened to the voicemail messages and said that they were "horrendous".
Owens's family sued the Stamford Board of Education in federal court, alleging that the city did not protect her rights, resulting in a $37,500 settlement in January 2008.
She has a
TEDx talk
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
on the subject.
Owens pursued an undergraduate degree in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
at the
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...
.
She dropped out after her junior year because of an issue with her
student loan
A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest r ...
.
Afterwards, she worked as an intern for
''Vogue'' magazine in New York.
In 2012, Owens took a job as an
administrative assistant
A person responsible for providing various kinds of administrative assistance is called an administrative assistant (admin assistant) or sometimes an administrative support specialist. In most instances it is identical to the modern iteration of t ...
for a
private equity firm
A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York, later moving up to become its vice president of administration.
Early career
Degree180 and anti-conservative blog
In 2015, Owens was CEO of Degree180, a marketing agency that offered consultation, production, and planning services.
The website included a blog, written by Owens, which frequently posted anti-conservative and anti-Trump content, including mockery of his penis size.
In a 2015 column that Owens wrote for the site, she criticized conservative Republicans, writing about the "bat-shit-crazy antics of the Republican Tea Party," adding, "The good news is, they will eventually die off (peacefully in their sleep, we hope), and then we can get right on with the OBVIOUS social change that needs to happen, IMMEDIATELY."
Privacy violation, Gamergate, and political transformation
Owens launched SocialAutopsy.com in 2016, a website she said would expose
bullies on the Internet by tracking their digital footprint.
The site would have solicited users to take
screenshot
screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is a digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by the operating system or software running on the device powering the display.
Additionally, s ...
s of offensive posts and send them to the website, where they would be categorized by the user's name.
She used
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
on
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
for the website.
The proposal was immediately controversial, drawing criticism that Owens was de-anonymizing (
doxing
Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this i ...
) Internet users and violating their privacy.
According to ''
The Daily Dot
''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown ...
'', "People from all sides of the anti-harassment debate were quick to criticize the database, calling it a
public shaming
Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...
list that would encourage doxing and retaliatory harassment."
Both conservatives and progressives involved condemned the website.
In response, people began posting Owens's private details online.
With scant evidence, Owens blamed the doxing on progressives.
After this, she earned the support of conservatives involved in the
Gamergate harassment campaign
Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "#Gamergate" pri ...
, including right-wing political commentators and Trump supporters
Milo Yiannopoulos
Milo Yiannopoulos (; born Milo Hanrahan, 18 October 1984), who has also published as Milo Andreas Wagner and the mononym Milo, is a British alt-right political commentator. His speeches and writings often ridicule Islam, feminism, social justi ...
and
Mike Cernovich
Michael Cernovich (born November 17, 1977) is an American right-wing social media personality, political commentator, and conspiracy theorist. Though he initially called himself alt-right, he dissociated from the movement after Richard Spence ...
.
Subsequently, Owens became a conservative, saying in 2017, "I became a conservative overnight ... I realized that liberals were actually the racists. Liberals were actually the trolls ... Social Autopsy is why I'm conservative".
Kickstarter suspended funding for Social Autopsy, and the website was never created.
Conservative activism
By late 2017, Owens had started producing pro-Trump commentary and criticizing notions of
structural racism
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
,
systemic inequality, and
identity politics
Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...
all positions she herself had been publishing two years earlier.
In 2017, she began posting politically themed videos to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
In September 2017, she launched Red Pill Black, a website and YouTube channel that promotes
black conservatism in the United States
Black conservatism in the United States is a political and social movement rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. Black conservatism emphasizes socia ...
.
On November 21, 2017, at the
MAGA
Maga or MAGA may refer to:
MAGA
* Make America Great Again, a political slogan famously used by Donald Trump
* Museo MAGA, a modern-art museum in Gallarate, Italy
* ''maga'', the logo of the Cornish Language Partnership, an organisation promot ...
Rally and Expo in
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
,
Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA (TPUSA), or Turning Point, is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. It was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. TPUSA's ...
founder Charlie Kirk announced that Owens had been hired as the organization's director of urban engagement.
Turning Point's hiring of Owens occurred in the wake of allegations of racism at Turning Point.
In May 2019, Owens announced her departure as communications director for the organization.
In April 2018,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
tweeted
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
"I love the way Candace Owens thinks." The tweet was met with derision on the part of many of West's fans. In May 2018, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
said that Owens "is having a big impact on politics in our country. She represents an ever-expanding group of very smart 'thinkers', and it is wonderful to watch and hear the dialogue going on... so good for our Country!" She registered as a Republican in 2018, after the hearings following
Brett Kavanaugh's nomination as a Supreme Court judge. She objected to what she termed the "social lynching" of Kavanaugh, on the grounds that to "believe women" was the reason "our ancestors got lynched", as she told a journalist from ''
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
'' magazine. "No evidence, but believe all women".
Owens has appeared on fringe conspiracy websites, such as
InfoWars
''InfoWars'' is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC.
Talk shows and other content for the site are created primarily in studi ...
.
In 2018, she was a guest host on
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, and began to distance herself from the far-right conspiracy websites, although she refused to criticize InfoWars or its hosts.
Owens hosted ''The Candace Owens Show'' on
PragerU
PragerU is an American advocacy group that creates videos promoting a conservative viewpoint on various political, economic, and sociological topics. It was co-founded by Allen Estrin and talk show host and writer Dennis Prager in 2009.
Despite ...
's YouTube channel. She left PragerU in 2020 to host ''
Candace
Kandake, kadake or kentake ( Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 ''kdke''),Kirsty
Rowan"Revising the Sound Value of Meroitic D: A Phonological Approach,"''Beitrage zur Sudanforschung'' 10 (2009). often Latinised as Candace ( grc, Κανδάκη, ''Kandak ...
'', a show on ''
The Daily Wire
''The Daily Wire'' is an American conservative news website and media company founded in 2015 by political commentator Ben Shapiro and film director Jeremy Boreing. The company is a major publisher on Facebook, and produces podcasts such as ' ...
''.
In April 2020, Owens announced her intention to either run for office in the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
or to be a
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, and that she would only run against an incumbent Democrat, not a Republican.
She did not reveal which specific office she would run for, or in which election cycle.
During ''
The Daily Wire
''The Daily Wire'' is an American conservative news website and media company founded in 2015 by political commentator Ben Shapiro and film director Jeremy Boreing. The company is a major publisher on Facebook, and produces podcasts such as ' ...
s coverage of the
2020 U.S. Election, Owens announced she would be joining ''The Daily Wire'' and would be hosting her own show.
Owens later said in a
tweet, "The rumors are true. I'm moving to
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
and joining ''the Daily Wire''!! This was a tough secret to keep. I couldn't be more excited!!" Her podcast ''
Candace
Kandake, kadake or kentake ( Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 ''kdke''),Kirsty
Rowan"Revising the Sound Value of Meroitic D: A Phonological Approach,"''Beitrage zur Sudanforschung'' 10 (2009). often Latinised as Candace ( grc, Κανδάκη, ''Kandak ...
'' premiered on the platform on March 19, 2021. Its episodes are filmed in front of a live studio audience and air weekly. Notable guests include former
United States president
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
,
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
president
Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
, and U.S. Representative
Jim Jordan
James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007.
A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-tim ...
.
In February 2021, Owens tweeted that she was considering a run for President
in 2024.
Blexit Foundation
Blexit, a term originally coined by
Me'Lea Connelly, is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...](_blank)
" and "exit" which mimics
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, the word used to describe the United Kingdom's
withdrawal from the European Union
Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...
. The original Blexit movement was started in 2016 by Connelly with the goal of achieving Black economic independence by encouraging Black Americans to leave the traditional financial systems that have historically disadvantaged the Black community. In late 2018, Owens launched a different Blexit foundation, which featured a social media campaign to encourage
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
(plus
Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
and other
minorities) to abandon the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and register as Republicans with the promise of freedom. At the time, 8% of Black Americans identified as Republicans.
At the launch in October 2018, Owens said that her "dear friend and fellow superhero Kanye West" designed merchandise for the movement, but the following day, West denied being the designer and disavowed the effort, saying "I never wanted any association with Blexit" and "I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in"; however, after an apology West is still putting his support behind Owens. In 2021, with dwindling donations, Owens was paid $250,000 for her foundation work.
Political views
Ideology
Owens said she had no interest in politics whatsoever before 2015, but previously identified as
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
.
In 2017, she began describing herself as a conservative Trump supporter.
Owens has since characterized Trump as the "savior" of Western civilization.
She has argued that Trump has neither engaged in rhetoric that is harmful to
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, nor proposed policies that would harm African Americans.
She said in October 2018 that she had never voted and had only recently become a registered Republican.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' has described Owens as "ultra-conservative",
and ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazine and the ''
Columbia Journalism Review
The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...
'' have described her as "right-wing". ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' has called her views "far-right" and the ''
Pacific Standard
''Pacific Standard'' was an American online magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years until production of the print edition cease ...
'' called her a member of the "
alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
", although she has rejected both terms.
She was influenced by the works of
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...
,
Milo Yiannopoulos
Milo Yiannopoulos (; born Milo Hanrahan, 18 October 1984), who has also published as Milo Andreas Wagner and the mononym Milo, is a British alt-right political commentator. His speeches and writings often ridicule Islam, feminism, social justi ...
,
Ben Carson
Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he ...
, and
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell (; born June 30, 1930) is an American author, economist, political commentator and academic who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he becam ...
.
Owens has said: "The left hates America, and Trump loves it."
She has said that the left is "destroying everything through this
cultural Marxist
The term "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that Western Marxism is the basis of continuing academic and intellectual efforts to subvert Western culture. The conspiracy theory misrepresents the ...
ideology."
Race relations
Owens is known for her criticism of the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement
and has described Black Lives Matter protesters as "a bunch of whiny toddlers, pretending to be oppressed for attention".
Owens has argued that African Americans have a
victim mentality
Victim mentality is an acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize or consider themselves a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case in the face of contrary evidence of such circumstances ...
, often referring to the Democratic Party as a "
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
".
She has argued that the
American Left
The American Left consists of individuals and groups that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political and cultural institutions of the United States. Various subgroups with a national scope are active. Liberals and progressives b ...
likes "black people to be government-dependent" and that black people have been brainwashed to vote for Democrats.
She has argued that police
violence against black people is not about racism,
and referred to police killings of black people as a trivial matter to African Americans.
She has characterized abortion as a tool for the "extermination" of black babies.
She has said, "Black Americans are doing worse off economically today than we were doing in the 1950s under
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
", adding that this is because "we've only been voting for one party since then."
She has attributed economic improvements for African Americans, such as a low unemployment rate, to Trump's presidency. However, the low unemployment rate under Trump was largely a continuation of a trend that started during the Obama administration.
When asked if it was problematic that
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
groups, such as the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
(KKK), support Trump, Owens answered that
Antifa was more prevalent than the KKK.
Owens has said that the media cover the KKK during Trump's presidency to hurt him.
In a 2019 hearing on
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
s, Owens referred to the KKK as a "Democrat terrorist organization". After the 2017
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, Owens said that concern over rising
white nationalism
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
was "stupid".
She has also called it "just election rhetoric" and "based on the hierarchy of what's impacting minority Americans, if I had to make a list of 100 things, white nationalism would not make the list." In 2018, Owens dismissed reports of a resurgence in hate crimes, saying "All of the violence this year primarily happened because of people on the left."
![Candace Owens (49279558037)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Candace_Owens_%2849279558037%29.jpg)
During her April 2019 testimony before the
House Judiciary Committee
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
on the rise of hate crimes and white supremacists in the United States, Owens made the claim that the
Southern strategy
In American politics, the Southern strategy was a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. As the civil rights movement and dismantling of ...
employed by the Republican Party to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans was a "myth" that "never happened". This was disputed by several historians who said that the existence of the Southern strategy was well documented in contemporaneous sources dating back to the
Civil Rights era
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...
, with historian
Kevin M. Kruse, who writes about modern conservatism, calling Owens's statement "utter nonsense".
In June 2019, Owens said that African Americans had it better in the first 100 years after the
abolition of slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
than they have since
and that socialism was at fault.
On October 3, 2022, during
Yeezy SZN 9 fashion show in Paris, Owens posed for a photo with
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
wearing a matching shirt with the "
WHITE LIVES MATTER
White Lives Matter (WLM) is a neo-Nazi slogan that began to be used in 2015 in a response to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) social justice movement. It seeks to address racism against White people, and purported claims of white genocide. The Aryan ...
" slogan.
During Paris Fashion Week, West entered negotiations with Owens' husband, the CEO of social networking service
Parler
Parler () is an American alt-tech social networking service associated with conservatives. Journalists have described Parler as an alt-tech alternative to Twitter, and users include those banned from mainstream social networks or who oppose ...
, to purchase the website.
After West posted tweets declaring he would "go Death Con 3 on Jewish people"; Owens defended West, stating that "if you are an honest person, you did not find this tweet antisemitic". Owens further accused the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
of instigating antisemitism following the organization's criticism of West and
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Andrew Irving (; lkt, Ȟéla, italic=no, ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected b ...
. Owens' comments were made before West praised
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
in an
Infowars
''InfoWars'' is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC.
Talk shows and other content for the site are created primarily in studi ...
interview. After the interview, Parler announced that West has canceled his plans to buy the website. The
Zionist Organization of America
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) () is an American non-profit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th centur ...
condemned Owens' defense of West, calling on her to "retract her offensive, dangerous statements."
Abortion
Owens opposes
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
.
She has called abortion a tool for the "extermination of black babies".
Women's rights
Owens is critical of
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
.
Owens described the
#MeToo movement, an international movement against
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
and
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
, as "stupid" and said that she "hated" it.
Owens wrote that the movement was premised on the idea that "women are stupid, weak & inconsequential".
LGBT rights
Owens supports
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
.
On July 28, 2017, Owens stated she was in favor of banning
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
individuals who are undergoing
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
from
serving in the United States military, but said that she did not oppose fully transitioned transgender individuals serving in the military. In April 2022, she called
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
"child groomers and pedophiles" and called for the boycott of the company, after Disney announced its opposition to
Florida's ''Parental Rights in Education Act'', commonly referenced as the "Don't Say Gay" legislation.
In May 2022, she falsely claimed on Twitter that the gunman, involved in the
Robb Elementary School shooting
On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other ...
, could be transgender and baselessly said that he was "cross-dressing". According to Owens, this was evidence that "there were plenty of signs that he was mentally disturbed".
In June 2022, Owens described
Drag Queen Story Hour as "child abuse", arguing that parents who take their children to a drag queen story hour "are underqualified to have children" and "should have their children taken away from them."
In December 2022, Owens argued that society would benefit by discriminating more against transgender and
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
individuals.
Welfare
Owens opposes
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
programs, saying that they are a Democratic Party tool to keep black Americans dependent upon the government.
Immigration
Owens is a proponent of the
Mexico–United States barrier
The Mexico–United States barrier ( es, barrera Estados Unidos–México), also known as the border wall, is a series of vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to reduce illegal immigration to the United States ...
, and believes undocumented immigrants to the United States should be immediately deported.
In 2018, Owens warned that "Europe will fall and become a Muslim-majority continent by 2050. There has never been a Muslim-majority country where
sharia law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...
was not implemented." She suggested that the United States would then be "forced to save" the British.
2020 election
After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede, Owens promoted Trump's claims of mass fraud, saying, "the American election was clearly rigged."
Climate change
She has claimed that global warming is not "real", while in 2021 promoted paid ads on Facebook, calling the
US government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
"modern doomsayers" who have been wrongly predicting climate crises for decades.
Controversies
Dispute with family of Mollie Tibbetts
In August 2018, Owens had a dispute with Sam Lucas, cousin of
Mollie Tibbetts, who had been murdered by Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
illegal immigrant
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
. Tibbetts's cousin said that Owens had exploited Tibbetts's death for "political propaganda". Owens responded by describing Lucas's criticism as a "strange" attack on Trump supporters. Later that month, the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
's chapter of Turning Point USA criticized Owens for "public harassment" towards a member of Tibbetts's family, and the executive board members of the chapter all resigned in protest.
Comments on 2018 mail bombing attempts
In October 2018, during the
mail bombing attempts targeting prominent Democrats, Owens took to Twitter to promote the conspiracy theory that the mailings were sent by leftists. After authorities on October 26 arrested a 56-year-old suspect who was a registered Republican and Trump supporter, Owens deleted her tweet without explanation.
Comments about Adolf Hitler
At the launch of the British offshoot Turning Point UK in December 2018, Owens made comments about
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
She was responding to an audience member who asked for a "long-term prognosis" about the terms "
globalism
Globalism refers to various patterns of meaning beyond the merely international. It is used by political scientists, such as Joseph Nye, to describe "attempts to understand all the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight patterns ...
" and "
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
", Owens said:
I actually don't have any problems at all with the word "nationalism". I think that the definition gets poisoned by elitists that actually want globalism. Globalism is what I don't want. Whenever we say "nationalism" the first thing people think about, at least in America, is Hitler. You know, itlerwas a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay, fine. The problem is that he wanted—he had dreams outside of Germany. He wanted to globalize. He wanted everybody to be German, everybody to be speaking German. Everybody to look a different way. That's not, to me, that's not nationalism.
Following heavy criticism for her comments, Owens clarified them on Twitter and in a Judiciary Committee hearing in the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
in February 2019.
Owens said that "
itlerwas a homicidal, psychopathic, maniac that killed his own people" and "
itler was not a nationalist, [hemurdered his own people; a nationalist would not kill their own people". She said that the point of her comments was to say that there is "no excuse or defense ever for ... everything that
itlerdid".
She also said that her comments were about Hitler's crimes against Jews.
Owens's comments about Hitler were played in April 2019 by Representative Ted Lieu during testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the issue of increasing hate crimes and white supremacy in America. Lieu said that he did not know Owens and was just going to let her own words characterize her, before playing the audio clip. Owens responded that Lieu had deliberately omitted an interviewer's question that provided critical context to her words, with the intent of misrepresenting them as an endorsement of Hitler, to smear her reputation.
She concluded this testimony by stating her opinion Lieu was "assuming that black people will not pursue the full two hour clip" and that the full clip had been "purposefully extracted" in order to "create a different narrative."
Donald Trump Jr.
Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977) is an American political activist, businessman, author, and former television presenter. He is the eldest child of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his firs ...
praised Owens on Twitter for "
alling
Alling () is a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia ...
out the Dems on their purposeful manipulation of facts for their narrative".
Mention in Christchurch shooter's manifesto
The terrorist who committed the
Christchurch mosque shootings
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
produced a manifesto in which he wrote that Owens had "influenced him above all". According to journalist
Robert Evans
Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...
, it was "possible, even likely" that the terrorist was a fan of Owens, considering her rhetoric against Muslim immigrants, but in context his references to her may have been an example of "
shitposting
In Internet culture, shitposting, trashposting, or funposting is the act of using an online forum or social media page to post content that is satirical and of "aggressively, ironically, and trollishly poor quality", an online analog of trash t ...
" intended to provoke political conflict. For instance, the line "Though I will have to disavow some of
wens'sbeliefs, the extreme actions she calls for are too much, even for my tastes" was assessed by ''
The Root
"The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...
'' as
trolling.
Hours after the shootings, Owens posted a
tweet in reaction to allegations that she inspired the mass murder, saying that she never created any content espousing her views on the
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the Right to keep and bear arms in the United States, right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the Un ...
or
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. However, her tweet was criticized as "glib" when it was reported that she actually had posted tweets about the 2nd Amendment and Islam.
She later made formal statements rejecting any connection to the terrorist.
George Floyd protests
In June 2020, Owens claimed that
George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
paid people to
protest the murder of George Floyd. Shortly afterwards, she argued that
George Floyd
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
"was not a good person. I don't care who wants to spin that."
She said, "The fact that he has been held up as a martyr sickens me."
Then-President Trump retweeted Owens's remarks about Floyd.
In a Facebook video that garnered nearly 100 million views, Owens called Floyd a "horrible human being", citing his criminal record, and called racial biases among police a "fake narrative."
On April 20, 2021, Owens claimed that the
guilty verdict given to former
police officer
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
Derek Chauvin
Derek Michael Chauvin ( ; born March 19, 1976) is an American former police officer who was convicted for the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin was a member of the Minneapolis Police ...
for murdering George Floyd was influenced by "mob justice" supposedly being pushed by the
mainstream media
In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes mai ...
and the Democrats.
COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination
In April 2020, Owens said that COVID-19 deaths were overcounted; health experts said that it was more likely that COVID-19 deaths were undercounted.
Regarding a
COVID-19 vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19).
Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
, she said in June 2020 that "under no circumstances will I be getting any #coronavirus vaccine that becomes available. Ever. No matter what." She also referred to
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
as a "vaccine-criminal", and said that he and the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) used "African & Indian tribal children to experiment w/ non-
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
approved drug vaccines."
On August 8, 2021, Owens said in a Facebook post that "I still have not received the COVID-19 vaccine and have not demanded that any of my employees get it either. I am proud that I committed myself to standing firm against the bribery, media propaganda, coercion, celebrity-peer pressure campaign, plus censorship." and that "It is isn't easy to swim against such a polluted current but here I am. I trust my gut much more than trust
Dr. Fauci." Also in August, Owens claimed that the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
(CDC) proposed "putting
high risk people into camps to 'shield' low risk people from them".
In 2021, Owens attracted media attention when she stated that the United States should "invade Australia",
saying that Australia had turned into a tyrannical Nazi-style "police state" due to its public health precautions against COVID-19, even though Australia's COVID-19 measures had overwhelming support among the Australian public.
Owens said that the comments were made "in jest" and that they had been misinterpreted by the media.
In April 2022, in response to the
CDC's mask mandate for public transit and airplanes being overturned, Owens said that "I'm not going to cheer until these people are behind bars for what they have done for the dignity of human beings, forcing them to sit behind masks that we know do not work to stop the spread of the virus."
Owens has been
accused of promoting vaccine misinformation.
In a December 2021 interview she asked Donald Trump about vaccine mandates, and he explained that he shared her views on mandates, but added that "the vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind": "The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take the vaccine. But it's still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you're protected. Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get it, it's a very minor form. People aren't dying when they take the vaccine."
Feud with Cardi B
Owens has been involved in a high-profile feud with rapper
Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
since August 2020.
The feud began when Owens retweeted a clip of herself on ''
The Ben Shapiro Show
''The Ben Shapiro Show'' is a daily conservative political podcast and live radio show produced by ''The Daily Wire'' and hosted by Ben Shapiro. The podcast launched in September 2015. , ''The Ben Shapiro Show'' was ranked by Podtrac as the seco ...
'' in which she criticized Cardi B's interview with then presidential candidate
Joe Biden. Cardi B responded and they engaged in a highly publicized feud, with Owens insulting Cardi B's grammar and intelligence, while Cardi B insulted Owens' political stance.
The feud resurfaced in March 2021 when Owens appeared on
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
to critique Cardi B's performance of "
WAP
WAP or Wap may refer to:
Music
* "WAP" (song), a 2020 song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion
Organizations
* Weatherization Assistance Program, for US energy costs
* Western Australia Party, a political party founded in 2016
* Western A ...
" at the
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
. Cardi B responded and they engaged in a debate, which ended with Owens threatening to sue after Cardi B made false and defamatory accusations about Owens' husband and brother.
Cardi B threatened to countersue for defamation, due to Owens claiming the accusations were false. Cardi B eventually deleted the accusations.
Defamation lawsuit
During an
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
livestream on June 22, 2021, Owens made accusations about former Republican congressional candidate
Kimberly Klacik
Kimberly Nicole Klacik (''née'' Bray; born January 19, 1982) is an American businesswoman and former political candidate. She was the Republican nominee for in both the April 2020 special election, held following the death of incumbent Elijah ...
, accusing her of
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
, tax fraud, illegal drug use, and misusing campaign funds. Owens also said that Klacik is a "madame" who recruits strippers for a strip club owned by her husband.
Owens said she found out about this after talking with a woman who claimed to have worked as a stripper at Klacik's strip club.
Klacik denied the allegations and repeatedly asked for Owens to take down the video, which she refused to do.
In July, Klacik filed a lawsuit against Owens seeking $20 million for
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
and claiming that the allegations have resulted in Klacik losing political support from donors, being removed from public events, a book deal cancellation, and harassment of Klacik and her family.
In a statement, Jacob S. Frenkel, Klacik's attorney, said: "The defendant chose to use her huge social media platform to attack a respected Baltimore political figure" and that "We are using the proper forum — the power of the courts — to respond."
The suit was dismissed with prejudice in December 2022.
Moon landing
In February 2022, Owens tweeted that "Now for some light-hearted fun. What's the one '
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
' that no matter what anyone says you believe is true. Mine is that the
moon landing in 1969 was
completely faked. Just nothing about it makes sense. Especially
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
'
accidentally erasing' the original footage."
Views on Russia and Ukraine
Owens has promoted
Russian propaganda
The propaganda of the Russian Federation promotes views, perceptions or agendas of the government of Russia. The media include state-run outlets and online technologies, and may involve using "Soviet-style 'active measures' as an element of m ...
, including the false claim that Russia created Ukraine. Her views have been promoted by the Russian embassy, after she tweeted that "Russian lives matter" while also disparaging the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement.
In March 2022, Owens claimed that
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
"wasn't a thing until 1989" and that it is "stupid" to suggest that Russian president
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
is carrying out a genocide in Ukraine. In response, American journalist and historian
Anne Applebaum
Anne Elizabeth Applebaum (born July 25, 1964) is an American journalist and historian. She has written extensively about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe.
She has worked at ''The Econo ...
called Owens "the face of pure ignorance" and added that "This is what happens when you know no history."
Also in March, Owens accused ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' of changing its narrative on Ukraine.
In December, during Zelensky’s visit to the United States, Owens tweeted that she wanted to “punch” him and falsely claimed his wife went on an expensive shopping spree during a diplomatic trip to Paris.
2022 LGBcoin lawsuit
In April 2022, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Florida against the
LGBcoin cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
company, Owens,
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver
Brandon Brown, and
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
alleging that the defendants made
false or
misleading statements about the LGBcoin and that the founders of the company had engaged in a
pump and dump
Pump and dump (P&D) is a form of securities fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price. Once the operat ...
scheme.
Biology
In May 2018, Owens suggested that "something bio-chemically happens" to women who do not marry or have children, and she linked to the Twitter handles of
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer.
Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...
,
Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show ''Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, ...
, and
Kathy Griffin
Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...
, saying that they were "evidentiary support" of this theory.
Silverman responded: "It seems to me that by tweeting this, you would like to maybe make us feel badly. I'd say this is evidenced by ur effort to use our twitter handles so we would see. My heart breaks for you, Candy. I hope you find happiness in whatever form that takes."
Owens responded, accusing Silverman of supporting terrorists and crime gangs.
Personal life
In early 2019, three weeks after they met, Owens became engaged to George Farmer,
an Englishman and former chairman of
Turning Point UK
Turning Point UK (TPUK) is a British offshoot of Turning Point USA set up to promote right-wing politics in UK schools, colleges and universities, ostensibly to counter what Turning Point alleges are the left-wing politics of UK educational ins ...
.
Farmer is also the CEO of social networking website Parler. On August 31, 2019, she and Farmer married at the
Trump Winery in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Owens gave birth to a boy in January 2021. She gave birth to their second child, a daughter, in July 2022.
Bibliography
*
Filmography
* ''The Greatest Lie Ever Sold'' (documentary, 2022)
[Eli Steele.]
The Truth Isn't as Simple as 'The Greatest Lie Ever Sold' Pretends
, ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'', October 24, 2022.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Candace
1989 births
Living people
African-American activists
Activists from Connecticut
African-American bloggers
African-American women in politics
African-American women writers
American bloggers
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American people of United States Virgin Islands descent
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Articles containing video clips
Black conservatism in the United States
Blaze Media people
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The Daily Wire people
Female critics of feminism
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Stamford High School (Stamford, Connecticut) alumni
University of Rhode Island alumni
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21st-century American women