Grief does bizarre issues. For some, it results in heartfelt tributes and quiet reflection. For Candace Owens, it has sparked a loud and controversial detour into conspiracy theories.
The conservative commentator is below fireplace after utilizing her YouTube channel to counsel that Charlie Kirk’s killing final week in Utah was not a random act of violence. As an alternative, Owens has claimed Kirk was focused due to his outspoken views on Israel, even going as far as to allege {that a} tense personal assembly with billionaire Invoice Ackman and others within the Hamptons was half of a bigger plot.
“You don’t suppose they needed Charlie silenced as a result of he wouldn’t fall in line on Israel?” she advised her viewers throughout a latest livestream.
Her idea shortly met pushback, not simply from critics however from the individuals she instantly named. Ackman himself issued a prolonged assertion denying her account, calling it “reckless and false.” He insisted he by no means threatened Kirk, by no means blackmailed him, and by no means provided cash to sway his views. Natasha Hausdorff, one of many individuals Owens claimed was within the room, additionally spoke out, rejecting Owens’ depiction of a heated or hostile confrontation.
Owens’s commentary has introduced renewed focus to her difficult historical past with Kirk. She first rose alongside him in 2017 at Turning Level USA, the place she served as communications director earlier than resigning two years later below stress after controversial remarks about Hitler. Earlier than she stepped down, the 2 solid a detailed friendship, supporting one another at the same time as they every walked down the aisle with their respective spouses.
“I met him again in 2017, when Turning Level was this very younger organisation. No person knew who I used to be, no person knew who Charlie Kirk was,” she mentioned in a video tribute to him shortly after his loss of life.
Their relationship, nonetheless, sometimes weathered public strains—she launched her personal BLEXIT motion, briefly merged it again into Turning Level in 2023, and later cut up with The Each day Wire over her criticism of Israel. After resigning from TPUSA, Owens continued to construct her personal following whereas remaining tied to Kirk within the eyes of the general public—as each a protégé who had flamed out and a determine who by no means really left his orbit.
By his loss of life, Owens described Kirk as her “finest pal” and “like a brother,” however they operated primarily as unbiased voices on the proper. Within the tribute video, she spoke at size about their friendship, what she admired about him, and even shared footage of them collectively rapping to Kanye West songs earlier than occasions, she expressed her hope for his legacy.
She famous how she doesn’t need “Charlie’s caricature to outlive when the precise Charlie Kirk particular person, who Charlie Kirk really is, is a lot extra necessary.”
