The Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro publicly escalated his feud with former colleague Candace Owens, accusing her of helping defend the man accused of murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk by promoting conspiracy theories about the killing.
Candace Owens vs. Ben Shapiro
The latest exchange came after Owens shared screenshots of text messages she said Kirk sent in which he purportedly criticized Shapiro. She accompanied the images with the message, “This is your daily reminder that Charlie Kirk always hated Ben Shapiro — he thought he was an Israel-First Jew supremacist. And for years, Andrew Kolvet pretended to hate Ben too until the moment Charlie died.”
She further targeted Kolvet, longtime executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, writing, “Andrew Kolvet encompasses the spirit of Judas.”
The dispute comes as Tyler Robinson stands trial for allegedly murdering Kirk in September 2025. Owens has repeatedly promoted conspiracy theories surrounding the killing, suggesting various groups or individuals were responsible. Robinson has been charged in connection with Kirk’s death.
Ben Shapiro calls out Candace Owens
Shapiro dismissed Owens’ latest attack while accusing her of exploiting the case.
He told his audience, “See, here’s the thing: I don’t really care about personal drama.”
“I’ve said repeatedly that Charlie and I weren’t best friends. Maybe you were best friends with Charlie. Maybe not. I don’t know, nor do I care,” he said. “For 10 months, you’ve been slandering Charlie’s wife [Erika Kirk], his friends and all of the people he worked with. You’re working to acquit his murderer. You’re spreading conspiratorial poison for cash. That’s something anyone of decency should condemn. The fact that so many are unwilling to do so is demonstrative of widespread cowardice, stupidity, wickedness, or all three.”
Other Charlie Kirk ally speaks out
Kolvet also criticized Owens in a social media post, accusing her of making Kirk’s death about herself.
“See, your big problem is that this entire thing is not about you, Candace. It’s about Charlie. It’s about Erika. It’s about his kids and his legacy. But time and time again you’ve hijacked Charlie’s story by smearing and slandering his wife, his org and his friends (and countless other people). Now you’re even crashing out with the ‘I’m not suicidal’ nonsense,” he wrote before concluding, “It’s not about YOU, Candace.”
