Candace Owens Hits Back After Ben Shapiro Calls Israel Comments "Disgraceful", Suggests She Quit Daily Wire
Conservative influencer Candace Owens appeared on Tucker Carlson's show Wednesday, where she responded to attacks by Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro, her boss.
Shapiro was caught on a viral clip calling Owens "disgraceful" for her commentary on Israel - after she tweeted on Nov. 3 that "No government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever," referring to Israel's response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack. "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," she continued.
Later that day, Owens doubled down on her statements in two tweets, responding to Jewish conservative Dave Rubin.
Fast forward two weeks, when Shapiro was filmed talking to a group of people regarding Owens' statements.
"I think her behavior during this has been disgraceful. Without a doubt," he said. "I think that her faux sophistication on these particular issues has been ridiculous."
Ben Shapiro blasted Candace Owens saying that she is absolutely disgraceful and basically wrong about her take on Arab Israel conflict.
— ꪻꫝể ꪻꫝể (@TheThe1776) November 15, 2023
What makes this interesting is that Ben Shapiro is the owner of the Daily Wire and Candace Owens works at the Daily Wire.
This is NOT the… pic.twitter.com/BdPOlmYa5k
On Tuesday, Owens responded to Shapiro's comments, posting bible quotes to X which ended with "You cannot serve both God and money." Shapiro responded on Wednesday, writing "Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit."
Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit. https://t.co/qachKhAuHo
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 15, 2023
45 minutes after Shapiro's reply, Tucker Carlson tweeted out an interview with Owens where she said that she and Shapiro have had "many disagreements," adding "We disagreed on the COVID vaccine, Ukraine and Russia, big pharma," noting Shapiro's early endorsement of the Covid-19 jab.
Candace Owens responds to a clip of Ben Shapiro criticizing her: "Ben and I have many disagreements. We disagreed on the COVID vaccine, Ukraine and Russia, big pharma."
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 15, 2023
Tucker: "It's just a little weird. So he was on the Left on the three biggest issues of our time?" pic.twitter.com/I5HpGnpoaV
When asked to respond to Shapiro's insults, Owens largely demurred - though she did note that he hadn't reached out to her personally to discuss the disagreement.
"I can’t respond to it beyond what he’s saying because it’s just ad-hominem attacks," she said - which Carlson agreed with.
"Yeah, because it’s not, ‘We disagree’ or ‘I don't think she’s correct’ or ‘Maybe she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,’" instead, calling her comments 'absolutely disgraceful.'
"Exactly. So I can’t respond to it on a level of intellect because there’s nothing that he has expressed—at least in that short clip—that he fundamentally disagrees with in terms of what I said," Owens replied. "But I will say that I’m not going to respond with ad-hominem attacks. I don't think it helps further the discussion."
Owens also said that Shapiro should be "embarrassed" to have been filmed talking trash like that.
Candace Owens responds to Ben Shapiro calling her behavior towards the Israel-Hamas conflict "disgraceful":
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 16, 2023
"I can't respond to it beyond what he's saying because it's just ad hominem attacks." pic.twitter.com/iaKMgMdqHk
"I would hope that amongst colleagues, it would always be civil disagreements," said Owens. "I would hope that it would remain respectful, and that you wouldn’t throw your colleagues under the bus, so to speak."
Watch the entire Tucker interview below:
Ep. 39 Candace Owens responds to Ben Shapiro.
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 15, 2023
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Candace is attacked – even when she’s right
(4:27) Ben Shapiro’s comments
(12:50) The emotional response to news out of Israel
(23:05) Nikki Haley vs. free speech
(30:34) 2024 predictions pic.twitter.com/VOThqpQQ48
Leading up to the spat, Shapiro publicly criticized Owens for "garbage" tweets in which she amplified left-wing blogger Max Blumenthal, who tweeted that "We White American Jews are living through a golden age of power, affluence and safety," which he called a "welcome reality" that "threatens the entire Zionist enterprise, from lobby fronts like the ADL to the State of Israel, because Zionism relies on Jewish insecurity to justify itself."
"I don’t know who Max Blumenthal is, but I do know that you have my number and could have informed me in earnest. Real relationships should trump Twitter theatre. Let’s set a better example going forward," Owens replied to Shapiro after he blasted her.