Candace Owens has reiterated her interest in appearing at a Turning Point USA event to share her claims and accusations against the organization and its late founder’s widow, Erika Kirk.
During her podcast, Owens shared that, despite renegging on a pledge to appear at the scheduled livestream set by Turning Point USA, she’d still be interesting in finding an alternate avenue for the two sides to debate.
“We can still make this work. And I would like to make this work, and I would especially like to make this work if you are saying or implying that Erica Kirk is going to be there, because the reality is that would be a game changer,” Owens said. “I think that’s a game changer. I think it would be very powerful to have her there to represent the viewpoints in a way that they’re maybe not being shared by Blake Neff, who is incredibly unlikable and speaks down to people, and I don’t know why he does that.”
Owens added that, after saying that she would appear at the originally scheduled event, her husband told her that it wasn’t in her best interest to attend in person.
“He shut it down immediately and for a very valid reason,” she said. “It is not my inclination to go to Phoenix without having my team with me, and my husband is very much a part of my team. But I will say that I will raise it further with the Supreme Court of George Farmer, if you are insinuating — and actually, if you can confirm — that you are saying that you will allow me — because it would be more authentic if it was face-to-face — and this is actually going to be very open, and I can ask every question under the sun. I might beg.”
She concluded by saying that the ball was “very much back in your court” to Turning Point USA.
“I want to make this happen. I still think you guys can open up for a live stream. That seems ridiculous as well. Let’s make this work for the people,” she said.
The comments from Owens came after producers for The Charlie Kirk Show — namely Andrew Kolvet and Blake Neff — shared that their initial response to the claims made by Owens, which the organization has categorically denied, came at the behest of Erika Kirk.
The duo shared that Charlie Kirk’s widow had personally approved the organization and the show’s response to accusations made by Owens in recent weeks and months.
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I am writing to respectfully request clarification from Blake Neff and TPUSA regarding the decision to withdraw support for a virtual debate involving Candace Owens, particularly in light of the public claims suggesting that Ms. Owens was being dishonest about the circumstances.
Virtual livestream debates have long been a common and widely supported format within TPUSA programming. Given that precedent, it is difficult to reconcile why—in this specific instance—a virtual format would suddenly be deemed unacceptable or unsupported. Common sense suggests that if the format itself were genuinely the issue, this standard would be consistently applied across all similar engagements.
If TPUSA is asserting that Ms. Owens misrepresented the situation, then transparency is essential to substantiate that claim. Clear documentation or a straightforward explanation outlining what materially changed, and why this debate was treated differently from prior virtual events, would go a long way toward maintaining credibility.
Absent such clarification, the optics reasonably suggest that the withdrawal may not have been based on format concerns at all, but rather on a reluctance to engage under the agreed-upon conditions. This is why many find Ms. Owens’ account to be more consistent with established practice.
I believe open discourse and intellectual honesty are foundational to TPUSA’s mission. For that reason, I respectfully urge you to provide a clear, factual explanation that addresses this apparent inconsistency.