Conservative writer and commentator Candace Owens earned some celebrity cheers and jeers Saturday after she posted a must-see video of herself smacking down a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who were trying to disrupt a Turning Point USA event at UCLA Wednesday night.
Owens, the communications director for TPUSA and frequent guest on Fox News, was having none of it, and let the protesters know in no uncertain terms what she thought about their “victim mentality.”
“It’s embarrassing!” she exclaimed.
“There is an ideological civil war happening,” Owens told the audience. “Black people that are focused on their past and shouting about slavery, and black people that are focused on their futures.”
“I can guarantee you, what you’re seeing happening is victim mentality versus victor mentality!
“I love that!” TPUSA co-host Charlie Kirk interjected.
Owens continued, saying that there was “no doubt” in her mind that the conservative blacks in the audience would be better off in twenty years than the BLM protesters because they don’t have BLM’s victim mentality.
“Victim mentality is not cool!” she declared. “I don’t know why people like being oppressed! It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard. ‘I love oppression, we’re oppressed, 400 years of slavery, Jim Crow!’ — which by the way, none of you guys lived through. Your grandparents did and it’s embarrassing that you utilize their history — you utilize their history, and you come in here with more emotion then they ever had when they were living through it!”
“It’s embarrassing!” she repeated. “You’re not living through anything right now! You’re overly privileged Americans!”
Black Lives Matter protesters showed up to my @UCLA event to protest. Here is a video clip of me smacking them down with the truth; they’re a bunch of whiny toddlers, pretending to be oppressed for attention. pic.twitter.com/riBA0A3J1I
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 20, 2018
Among those praising her were rapper Kanye West and actress Roseanne Barr. Detractors included rapper Azealia Banks and actor Don Cheadle.
“Avengers” actor Cheadle chastised Owens over her sarcastic jab at the Black Lives Matter protesters.
https://twitter.com/DonCheadle/status/987486153510014976
Owens immediately challenged Cheadle to a debate.
Huge fan of your work, @DonCheadle. Rather than critique me over twitter, why don’t you debate me and my stance on BLM publicly? I will raise 50k for the debate, all proceeds to charity. What do you say?
(Followers: please RETWEET) https://t.co/xo3fP9Dg8l— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/DonCheadle/status/987533793861894145
You respond, but not to my offer? A simple yes or no will suffice. Many of us are under the impression that you Hollywood stars are nothing but hot air when it comes to your political stances. Prove me wrong.
50k, charity of your choice.
(Folllowers, please RT once more). https://t.co/pFOjY3kciD— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 21, 2018
Kanye West chimed in Saturday morning with a big endorsement:
I love the way Candace Owens thinks
— ye (@kanyewest) April 21, 2018
Roseanne Barr, not surprisingly, agreed with West:
bingo.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) April 21, 2018
Owens was excited to have Kanye West’s support because she is a huge fan.
I’m freaking out. @kanyewest ….please take a meeting with me. I tell every single person that everything that I have been inspired to do, was written in your music.
I am my own biggest fan, because you made it okay. I need you to help wake up the black community. https://t.co/Uz1nB9K0Oz— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 21, 2018
Reactions were mixed on Saturday with many people celebrating West’s apparent endorsement of Owens’ ideas and others, like former MSNBC talker Toure, panning them:
https://twitter.com/Toure/status/987784755235180546
After Kanye’s big tweet, Twitter created a “Twitter Moment” to highlight his support for the “far-right” Owens.
Far right? Allow me to clarify: I believe the black community can do it without hand-outs. I believe the Democrats have strapped us to our past to prevent us from our futures. And I won’t stop fighting until all black Americans see that.
I’m not far right—I’m free. pic.twitter.com/wtqCuYPtM2— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 21, 2018
“Far right? Allow me to clarify: I believe the black community can do it without hand-outs. I believe the Democrats have strapped us to our past to prevent us from our futures. And I won’t stop fighting until all black Americans see that. I’m not far right—I’m free,” Owens said in response to the smear.
It’s absurd but revealing that Twitter would characterize this strong, articulate, and influential black woman as “far right,” putting her in the same category as neo-Nazis. As Owens makes clear in this interview with Dave Rubin, she is actually fairly moderate to liberal on social issues.
Kanye West tweets 7 words and leftists rush to smear me as far-right & anti-LGBT. So what terrified them?
The truth did. The left is losing control of their blacks. Ready to be awakened? Watch the truth about my journey off the plantation w/ @RubinReport. https://t.co/YviWe4PQk0 pic.twitter.com/GcN35gBoIa— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 21, 2018
By pigeonholing her as “far right,” Twitter was attempting to minimize her influence.
But this young Candace Owens fan didn’t fall for Twitter’s not-so-clever trick: “When you look on Twitter, there’s a banner at the top already starting to try to put Kanye West in his place,” she said. “Now, anybody who doesn’t agree with the progressive, leftist — whatever! — is a far right!” she exclaimed.
I stand with #CandaceOwens and #KanyeWest!
We need NEW ideas in the black community and we are NOT afraid anymore.
Proud to be off the #ProgessivePlantationhttps://t.co/tEWng0I9tL— @RealWendyBelle (@RealWendyBelle) April 21, 2018
Azealia Banks, a rapper known for sharing nasty and outrageous opinions about white people — like Sarah Palin should be gang-raped — took issue with Owens in a lengthy and incoherent Instagram post.
“What kind of ridiculous rhetoric is this?” Banks asked. “How could you try and minimize the sufferance of your fellow black Americans and the entirety of our ancestry just to promote even more baseless social ideologies??”
Black people are the ONLY people in the world who are forced by overly articulate “logic” to forget about the past and this is only done to make sure we have no plans for the future aside from adhering to more prescriptions of life from white supremacy. I don’t think you get that the ENTIRE first world rests and replies upon a systematically oppressed underclass of primarily black and brown bodies to provide free labor and free resources in order to secure it’s freedoms.
Owens will be on Fox and Friends Sunday morning to talk about how she and Kanye “broke the internet” this weekend.
Tomorrow morning I am back on @foxandfriends at 9:20amET. We will be discussing my recent clash with Black Lives Matter protesters, plus, how Kanye broke the the internet with 7 words.
Tune in and tweet me live!— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 22, 2018
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