Candace Owens Goes Out in the Most Fitting Way Possible: By Asking for Money
The Daily Wire and Candace Owens parted ways on Friday after months of speculation that such a divorce was forthcoming.
Owens’s skid into overt, unrepentant anti-Semitism was shocking in the way that all overt, unrepentant bigotry is. But for those with any understanding at all of Owens’s character and story, the who of the matter could hardly be counted as a surprise.
Owens was a bad hire from the outset. She has an enormous following because she is a talented communicator. She speaks clearly and forcefully, is quick on her feet, and can be witty. There’s little doubt she made The Daily Wire quite a lot of money. Yet from the moment she signed on the dotted line, the shot clock was ticking on her time there.
Once upon a time, Owens ran a left-wing website that published unflattering and speculative stories about the size of Donald Trump’s genitalia, where she called for the death of the “Republican Tea Party.” Then she realized there was a niche in the conservative media she could fill, which she did quite successfully.
There are some genuine “Road to Damascus” moments in politics, but they’re rare. Most of the time, people who so easily turn on their heel to walk back in the direction they once denounced are either shallow thinkers, grifters after a quick buck, or both. Owens slots cleanly into that last cohort, whose denizens are all too happy to either stab their benefactors directly in the back or heap shame upon them with their actions.
Owens has surely done just that over the last few months. Her sloppiness was exemplified by her claim that Jerusalem’s Muslim population was forced to reside in the city’s historic Muslim Quarter. Her hollowness was exemplified by her claim to being a pious Christian while promoting and defending Andrew Tate, an accused sex trafficker and rapist and confirmed misogynist with a distinctly un-Christian view of women and sexual ethics. Her insanity was exemplified her staking of her “professional reputation” on the conspiracy theory that the First Lady of France is a man. Her bigotry was exemplified by her fear-mongering over “political Jews” and a “sinister” ring of Jews exerting influence in Hollywood and Washington, D.C.. Most amusingly, though, her true motives were exemplified by her farewell.
“The rumors are true — I am finally free,” declared Owens, after CEO Jeremy Boreing announced her exit. “If you would like to support my work, you can head to http://CandaceOwens.com where you will be directed to my locals page. Or, you can give a gift at http://gocandace.com.”
The rumors are true— I am finally free.
If you would like to support my work, you can head to https://t.co/fOcTKYQDFk where you will be directed to my locals page.
Or, you can give a gift at https://t.co/SB1L1WZYwW
There will be many announcements in the weeks to come. 🇺🇸✝️
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 22, 2024
That’s right, immediately after securing her so-called freedom, she directed her followers to not just support her in her future work, but to send her money in an envelope in exchange for… nothing? A donation to charity? Like the kind you might send to a cancer foundation or food kitchen?
Remember, this is not the panhandling of someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck. Far from it, she was one of the top faces of The Daily Wire — a wildly successful media company that recently offered Steven Crowder a four-year, $50 million contract. It’s impossible to say what Owens took home during her tenure there, but it’s safe to assume that it wasn’t a pittance given the fact that she boasts 4.8 million followers on X (Crowder has a “mere” 2.1 million). Even more importantly for the question of her liquidity, Owens boasts more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube, a very lucrative platform.
It was the most fitting end possible to Owens’s stint there because it summed up what she came to do, what she did for both herself and The Daily Wire, and what she plans to do next, likely by playing the role of martyred truth-teller and consolidating her hold on the bigoted sliver of the American right.
Her ex-employer deserves some praise for finally be ridding itself of her and no longer providing her with its legitimacy and tacit endorsement, but its mistake should serve as a cautionary tale for other conservative media outlets.
Hiring flashy grifters with built-in followings may pay off in the short run, but it’s invariably a long-term curse.
It was inevitable from the very start of their professional relationship that Owens and The Daily Wire would part ways under less than amicable circumstances. Just as it was inevitable that Owens’s first and foremost concern afterwards was going to be cashing in.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
