Candace Owens insists Australian tour will go ahead

The right-wing American political commentator and conspiracy theorist Candace Owens has declared she still plans to come to Australia, despite a loud push for her to be blocked from entering the country.

Ms Owens has an Australian tour scheduled in November, with tickets on sale for $95. Or, should you be so inclined, you can pay $1500 for a VIP dinner with her.

Promotional material for the tour promises attendees “an electrifying evening” with “the outspoken and fearless” social commentator, saying she is known for her “controversial takes and unwavering stance”.

The extreme views Ms Owens has frequently expressed, including outlandish conspiracy theories about Jewish people and the minimisation of Nazi Germany’s atrocities, caused her to be turfed out by The Daily Wire, a conservative news website, in March. She had hosted a popular talk show, Candace, on the platform since 2021.

She also has a record of spreading conspiratorial content about vaccines, Muslims and transgender people, among other subjects.

“Candace burst onto the political scene with her first YouTube video in August 2017. Since then, she has amassed a staggering 3.2 million subscribers, who tune in for her unapologetic deep dives and bold exposes on the most pressing political and cultural issues of our time,” the tour’s website states.

“Candace has become a household name for her fearless criticism of movements like Black Lives Matter, her scepticism about the impact of white supremacy on society, and her opposition to Covid lockdowns and vaccines.​

“In a world full of safe spaces, Candace cuts through the fluff, delivering raw and unfiltered commentary on politics, culture, and everyday life.”

It goes on to say that Ms Owens’ “transition from The Daily Wire to her own platform” – a rather polite way of putting it – has “only amplified her voice” and let her “push boundaries further than ever before”.

Too far, some might say, including Jewish groups here in Australia, who are urging the federal government to deny Ms Owens a visa.

“There is no place in Australia for Candace Owens and her vile, divisive and dangerous conspiracy theories,” leaders of the Zionist Federation of Australia recently wrote to Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke, as first reported by Nine newspapers.

“Your government has rightfully expressed concern about the increasing embrace of extreme ideologies by Australians. Extremism, racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism are unacceptable in any form, regardless of whether they originate from the far-left or right.”

The Coalition’s immigration spokesman, Dan Tehan, has also called for Mr Burke to block Ms Owens’ visa application on character grounds, accusing her of spreading “hateful messages”.

Mr Burke has asked his department to organise a brief on Ms Owens, and has pledged to “act on it immediately” once he receives it.

He appears to be on a course to block her visa, as he hinted last week when he said: “Tickets to these events are selling for $100. I hope she has a good refunds policy.”

‘No’: Owens will not cancel her tour

On Monday, Ms Owens spoke to Sydney’s 2GB radio station and addressed the drama.

“There are some people calling for you to be banned from coming to Australia,” host Ben Fordham said.

“Yeah, it’s kind of incredible to think that people could be so fearful of just speech and conversation,” Ms Owens replied.

“The only way we can be free as a society is if we’re free to hear ideas and free to change our minds. So I was quite surprised to see that!

“They’re like, ‘Don’t give her a visa, she’s a bad person.’ But I promise you, it’s not going to harm you to hear different ideas.”

Asked how it felt to have people “going after” her, Ms Owens said she had been steeled by her previous experiences, including criticism she copped for opposing Black Lives Matter and, in her words, the “George Floyd narrative”.

Mr Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in May of 2020. That was the inciting incident for nationwide protests against police brutality in the United States, some of which involved rioting. In 2021, a jury convicted Chauvin, who was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

The interview ended with Mr Fordham asking directly: “So you won’t be cancelling your trip to Australia?”

“No! I’m so excited. I’ve never been to Australia. I actually have family in Australia, my husband has cousins who are there. I’m just so thrilled to finally get out there,” she said.

‘A sick woman’: Conservative host blasts Owens

There was less sympathy for Ms Owens on Sky News a few hours later. Andrew Bolt, host of evening opinion show The Bolt Report, labelled her “poisonously ignorant”.

“Owens is huge on the internet. She has more than five million followers on Instagram alone, and is billed as a fearless conservative,” Mr Bolt said.

“She’s not actually conservative. She’s a total kook. And Jewish groups want her banned for alleged antisemitism.”

Mr Bolt brought up Ms Owen’s interview with Mr Fordham, stressing that he “genuinely” likes and respects the radio host.

“That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?” he said after playing some of her comments on 2GB.

“In this case, Fordham is badly wrong. Owens is a sick woman, and it shocks me that Australians are paying $95 a head to hear a woman who claims, for instance, that Israel may have been created by a secret sect of child-sacrificing paedophiles just claiming to be Jews.

“It’s just disgusting. This woman also claims, for instance, that Stalin and Lenin were Jews.”

Mr Bolt did not take a clear position on the issue of potentially blocking Ms Owens from entering Australia, though he did note that “this kind of censorship is very dangerous”.