Conservative news and commentary outlet The Daily Wire has reportedly obtained a gag order against former podcast host Candace Owens, a new report alleges, despite company co-founder Ben Shapiro claiming that he wanted to debate her on the Israel-Palestine issue.
As Valuetainment previously reported, Owens’ three-year stint at the Daily Wire ended in March following months of tension between the professional provocateur and her fellow network personalities. The subject of the Israel-Hamas war proved to be a particularly divisive issue for Owens and Shapiro. Owens has taken a firm stance against American involvement in foreign wars, including the one in Gaza; Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew, has criticized other Republicans for their declining support for both Israel and Ukraine, stressing America’s national security interests in both conflicts.
After multiple social media clashes between the two, Owens’ departure was announced by Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing, who said simply that “Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship.” Later that day, Owens wrote that “the rumors are true—I am finally free.”
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In the weeks that followed, Owens and Shapiro lobbed debate challenges at one another via social media. Shapiro offered to host the sit-down at the Daily Wire’s Nashville studio, but Owens objected to the setting and format controlled by her one-time employer. While it appeared that negotiations on the issue had died down in recent weeks, a report published by independent journalist Glenn Greenwald suggests that the debate was never actually going to take place.
As Greenwald wrote:
[T]he Daily Wire — in secret and unbeknownst to its readers — sought a gag order to be placed on Owens after she had called for a debate. They did this under the cover of secrecy, before a private arbitrator, at exactly the same time that they were claiming in public that they wanted this debate and were even negotiating the terms with her. To this date, the Daily Wire has not informed its readers, seeking to understand why the much-anticipated debate had not yet happened, that they had sought and obtained a gag order against Owens.
The gag order was reportedly approved by both Shapiro and Boreing, neither of whom gave any outward indication of the proceedings.
According to the Daily Wire founders, Owens’ debate challenge violated a non-disparage clause of her agreement with the company. They further cited X posts critical of Shapiro that Owens had liked without providing comment.
The gag order hearing reportedly occurred as part of an exchange of legal threats between the two parties, stemming from various Daily Wire executives and hosts disparaging Owens as an antisemite. One such instance came in the form of a one-hour monologue from podcast host Andrew Klavan, who labeled Owens’ use of the expression “Christ is King” an antisemitic canard.
Related: The PBD Podcast Live with Candace Owens & Chris Cuomo
When the arbitrator sided with the Daily Wire, Owens was prohibited from “saying or doing anything in the future which could tarnish or harm the reputation of the Daily Wire and/or Ben Shapiro.” This, according to Greenwald, included participating in any form of debate.
When reached for comment, Boreing told Greenwald that the report “is inaccurate to the point of being false.”
“I’m sure you can appreciate how fraught a high-profile break-up like this is. For that reason, we are trying to resolve our issues with Candace privately,” Boreing said.
Owens likewise could “neither confirm nor deny” the report, saying “I wish I could comment on this but I can’t.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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