Kanye West Candace Owens

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Kanye West tweeted support for Candace Owens—and a lot of people are not happy

Owens has called Trump the 'savior' of the free world.

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Chris Tognotti

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Posted on Apr 22, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 5:51 pm CDT

Kanye West jumped into a swirl of controversy on Saturday when he tweeted out a message of support for right-wing YouTube personality Candace Owens.

“I love the way Candace Owens thinks,” he wrote, prompting glee from some conservative commentators and backlash from many of his left-leaning fans and critics.

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/987696355341553665

Owens, 28, seemed thrilled that West tweeted about her:

Owens was subject to immense controversy in 2016 when she attempted to crowdfund a website ostensibly aimed at halting cyberbullying, which critics denounced as an elaborate means of outing and doxing the identities of anonymous internet users. Owens denied that the site would have outed users by name, but the funding effort was ultimately suspended by Kickstarter, and it never got off the ground.

Since then, she’s been named the director of urban engagement for Turning Point USA, a culture war-stoking conservative organization run by Charlie Kirk, and she’s been running her own YouTube channel, which is aimed at making conservative appeals to black viewers. Her videos are heavy on criticism of left-wing activist groups like Black Lives Matter, as well as praise for President Donald Trump.

She’s referred to the 71-year-old American president as “the savior of the free world,” and has derided Black Lives Matter protesters as “whiny toddlers” who are “pretending to be oppressed for attention.”

In the latter regard, it shouldn’t be surprising that West would like what Owens has to say―the star rapper and producer has publicly expressed his support for Trump, and he even visited Trump Tower for a photo-op with him during the presidential race in August of 2016. Just days after Trump’s victory, in fact, West told the audience at one of his shows that if he’d voted, he would have voted for Trump.

“I told y’all I didn’t vote, right?” he said. “But if I would’ve voted, I would’ve voted for Trump.”

West went on to praise Trump’s speaking style and urged the San Jose crowd―which appeared none too thrilled with his political takes―to “stop focusing on racism.”

This is far from the first time West has alienated some of his fans through tweeting controversial statements about politics or culture. Back in early 2016, in the thick of the rapidly escalating flood of sexual assault allegations against comedian Bill Cosby, West tweeted out “BILL COSBY INNOCENT,” drawing scrutiny and criticism.

West has had quite a week on Twitter since he reactivated his profile. Before showing support for Owens, he tweeted philosophical musings about life and promoted his new Yeezy slides.

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*First Published: Apr 22, 2018, 12:11 pm CDT

Chris Tognotti

Chris Tognotti is a frequent contributor for the Daily Dot. He’s a news and current events writer based out of Berkeley, California, and a co-host of the podcast Now We Know. While he specializes in domestic politics and opinion writing, he’s also savvy on sports, video games, and film.

Chris Tognotti