Candace Owens Is Out at Daily Wire, CEO Says

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Controversial right-wing commentator Candace Owens and the Daily Wire have parted ways.

“Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship,” Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Friday. He did not elaborate on the circumstances behind the move.

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Owens joined the Daily Wire in 2021 and hosted a weekday commentary show for the website. Shortly after Boreing’s announcement, Owens confirmed that she is no longer with Daily Wire (and reposted Boreing’s statement).

“The rumors are true — I am finally free,” Owens wrote to her 4.8 million followers on X. She added, “There will be many announcements in the weeks to come,” posting emoji of the U.S. flag and a cross. She said fans who “would like to support my work” can visit her website (CandaceOwens.com) or make a donation to her on the Revv platform. Owens said she will bring back her show on her personal YouTube channel “after a brief hiatus.”

Owens’s departure from the outlet comes after “months of tensions between her and Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro over her promotion of various anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” according to Mediaite.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, Owens has been increasingly critical of Israel’s military response in Gaza. “No government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever. There is no justification for a genocide. I can’t believe this even needs to be said or is even considered the least bit controversial to state,” Owens posted on X in November, comments that appeared to be directed at Israel. Shapiro, who is a firm supporter of Israel, was seen in a TikTok clip speaking at a private event calling Owens’ behavior “absolutely disgraceful.”

Owens has used her perch at Daily Wire to deliver commentary perceived as anti-Semitic. She recently said on her Daily Wire show that a Jewish “gang” in Hollywood is committing “horrific things,” and suggested “Jews are going to be blamed” if TikTok is banned (via Media Matters). Earlier this week, she liked an X post that promoted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews were “drunk on Christian blood” (via Mediaite). In 2018, when she was with conservative student advocacy group Turning Point USA, Owens was asked at an event about “nationalism,” to which she responded, “I actually don’t have any problems at all with the word ‘nationalism’… Whenever we say nationalism, the first thing people think about, at least in America, is Hitler… If Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK, fine.”

In a post Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League, said, “White supremacist & Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes is praising Candace Owens’ vitriolic antisemitism. It’s hardly surprising, but it does set off alarm bells: When bigoted people come together to push an antisemitic agenda, it adds fuel to the fire of hate.” Fuentes, who among other things has called for a “white uprising” to back Trump as dictator, said on his Rumble show this week that Owens “has been in a full-fledged war against the Jews.”

In response to the ADL, Owens commented Friday, “I am grateful they have turned their smear merchant guns on me. The world already knows my heart. Their attacks will have the opposite desired effect. Awaken world. Thank you, @adl.”

In the March 21 episode of “The Breakfast Club” talked show, Owens told host Charlamagne tha God that Shapiro “doesn’t have the power to fire me.”

“As I explained on Tucker Carlson’s show, like, Ben doesn’t have the power to fire me,” she said. “And it’s not even saying that we disagree on Israel and Palestine. I just think that he’s — obviously, his wife is Israeli. He spends a lot of time in Israel throughout the year. I think when you have an emotional attachment to some place, that sometimes your reaction to anything is going to be more extreme to it. You know?”

The description of her show on Daily Wire’s website reads, “Candace Owens holds nothing back in her show as she takes on the political and cultural issues of the day. Featuring deep dives, investigations, and exposés on today’s burning topics. Watch CANDACE OWENS Monday through Friday at 2PM CT.”

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