Who Is Candace Owens?
On Monday (April 23), Kanye West followers may have been surprised to find the rapper's name trending next to Donald Trump, who he apparently declared his love for while speaking with radio host Ebro Darden on Hot 97. They may have been equally surprised to find a less familiar name in the mix: Candace Owens, a woman who West, apparently, is a big fan of.
"I love the way Candace Owens thinks," he tweeted over the weekend, much to the chagrin of those who do know who she is.
For those who don't, Owens is a right-wing pundit known for her controversial politics. (Think Tomi Lahren, but a few years older). According to NME, she's the communications director of non-profit organization Turning Point USA, and shut down a Black Lives Matter protest during a panel at UCLA on Friday (April 20). Video from the discussion subsequently went viral, which is, seemingly, what prompted West's tweet.
"There is an ideological civil war happening [in the black community]," Owens said at the event, per The Root. "Victim mentality is not cool. I don’t know why people like being oppressed. It’s the weirdest thing I 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. It’s embarrassing that you utilize their history, .... You’re not living through anything right now. You’re overly privileged Americans."
Owens, who is in her late 20s, also launched a YouTube channel last year, where she posts videos with titles including "Women marching in America again? What a JOKE" and "No transgender people in the army: Who cares?"
It's unclear whether or not West has seen these videos, or if his comments were merely a response to the UCLA story (based on earlier tweets, it seems like the former), but either way, the adoration is mutual.
"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," Owens tweeted in response to West. "I am my own biggest fan, because you made it okay. I need you to help wake up the black community."