All about Candace Owens, the controversial political commentator being sued by French President Macron

The legal battle adds to a long list of controversies that have defined Owens’ public career, including incendiary remarks on race, gender and global politics. Her rapid rise as a young, Black woman within conservative circles has drawn attention, given that these demographics have historically allied with the Democratic Party.

She’s also seen as one of the leading faces of the online conservative political movement that is aiming to attract and mobilise young women. Here is a look at her background, political positions, and many public disputes.

From a ‘dysfunctional’ childhood to media career

Owens, 36, was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, mostly in low-income housing, and has described her upbringing as “dysfunctional,” according to a profile by The New Yorker.

Her grandfather often told stories of growing up Black in a pre-Civil Rights Movement America, including violent encounters with the White supremacist hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. It shaped her views, and Owens has cited this for her scepticism towards claims that white nationalism continues to be a pervasive threat in modern America.

She enrolled at the University of Rhode Island to study journalism but left before completing her degree. Owens spent her twenties as an intern and fashion assistant at magazines like Vogue and Glamour.

The ‘Social Autopsy’ project and political turn

In 2016, Owens announced SocialAutopsy.com, a site aimed at exposing online harassment by creating a public database of alleged abusers. Critics, however, accused her of proposing doxxing, or revealing personal information about someone. The crowdfunding campaign for the site was suspended, and Owens later said the backlash convinced her that “liberals were actually the racists”.

This shift coincided with the political rise of Donald Trump. With the growth of “alternative” media sources catering to right-wing audiences, she launched a YouTube channel under the name Red Pill Black.

Owens quickly gained attention for her critiques of the Democratic Party and progressive politics. Her assertive articulation and engagement with popular topics (including Hollywood films and celebrities) have been credited for her popularity. She became a vocal Trump supporter, though she occasionally criticised him and segments of the Republican Party.

She then married British-American businessman George Farmer, son of Conservative UK politician Michael Farmer, and the couple have three children. In 2020, she joined conservative media company The Daily Wire, co-founded by commentator Ben Shapiro. Her weekly show, Candace, was launched the next year with a mix of political insights and parenting-lifestyle content.

The many conspiracy theories by Candace Owens

Owens has been linked to the promotion of multiple conspiracy theories over the years, including against vaccines. She has also echoed false claims questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 US presidential election. Some of her theories are:

*In December 2021, Owens interviewed Trump, who defended the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. She later said, “People oftentimes forget, like, how old Trump is. He comes from a generation… before Internet, before being able to conduct their independent research.” Trump was reportedly upset with her, but she eventually returned to supporting him.

*Owens co-founded the “BLEXIT” (Black Exit) movement in 2018, encouraging Black Americans to leave the Democratic Party, which she accuses of taking Black voters for granted. At The Daily Wire, she produced a documentary critical of George Floyd, whose murder in 2020 triggered protests against racial injustice. She, however, chose to focus on his personal history and past arrests.

*In 2018, responding to a question about nationalism, Owens said, “If Hitler just wanted to make Germany great… OK, fine,” adding that the problem was his expansionist ambitions. The comment, which omitted mention of the Holocaust, drew criticism across the political spectrum.

She later claimed that her comments were taken out of context. Rapper Kanye West, known for similar comments on race and Adolf Hitler, has also praised her publicly. She partnered with West on initiatives such as BLEXIT and attended Paris Fashion Week with him in “White Lives Matter” T-shirts.

*She has increasingly focused on transgender issues, calling trans women “bigoted misogynists”. Owens has also opposed same-sex marriages.

*While advocating for women in leadership positions, Owens has opposed abortion rights and called feminism “toxic”, often questioning the need for it. She added that “women under the guise of feminism” are not “free”.

*Owens supports stricter border controls in the US and has argued against “mass immigration” into Western countries. In 2018, she tweeted at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying, “Europe will fall and become a Muslim-majority continent by 2050. There has never been a Muslim-majority country where sharia law was not implemented.”

*She has dismissed the scientific consensus on climate change, calling it exaggerated and politically motivated. In 2018, she tweeted: “Climate doom predictions have always been about scaring citizens into more taxation and regulation… It is an ever-moving target and the costliest lie of every generation.”

And the one where she broke ranks

Owens has faced criticism for remarks seen as insensitive towards Jewish people and for questioning US support for Israel, which is not a traditionally held Republican view. These tensions played a role in her 2024 public split with The Daily Wire. Owens wrote that she did not believe “American taxpayers should have to pay for Israel’s wars or the wars of any other country.”

She also referred to “political Jews” and “a very small ring of specific people who are using the fact that they are Jewish to shield themselves from any criticism.” She has called Israel a “terrorist state” committing a “genocide and a holocaust on the Gazan people,” further accusing Trump of being influenced by pro-Israel political donors.