Candace Owens suspended from YouTube after Kanye West interview violates hate speech policies

Controversial commentator Candace Owens has been suspended from YouTube after sharing her 2022 interview with Kanye West that claimed “Jewish people control the media.”

The far-right commentator decried the move in an announcement on X, where she revealed she’s been suspended from the platform for one week because the interview with the artist — which was finally published last month — violated the platform’s hate speech policies.

“There will be no show today, or at all this week. That’s because @YouTube has issued me a strike and a one week suspension for my sit down with Kanye,” she said. “They also removed the interview as ‘hate speech’, as it was mass reported by Zionists. Their tactics never change.”

Sharing a screenshot of the notification she received from YouTube, the streaming giant said the episode “violates our hate speech policies” as it does not allow “content containing conspiratorial claims that individuals or groups are evil, corrupt or malicious based on their protected group status.”

YouTube added in the notice: “Specifically, the video in question contains claims that Jewish people control the media.”

Owens, who has almost 2.4 million subscribers to her channel, defended the episode. “All who watched that podcast know that Ye was calm, and filled with love—speaking about the world coming together to defeat evil,” she said.

“2.5 million people watched my debate with Rabbi Shmuley last week. The world knows why I am being targeted and frankly, I have never felt more confident that I am the right person for this to happen.”

Last week, Owens appeared on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored, where she clashed with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, one of America’s most high-profile Jewish figures.

On Tuesday, Rabbi Shmuley praised YouTube’s decision to suspend Owens, branding her “America’s antisemite”.

“#AmericasAntisemite Candace Owens @realcandaceo continues to blame me for her suspension on @YouTube,” he wrote on X. “Thank you so much, Candace. I wear it as a badge of honor.”

He added: “I am so happy that, as promised, I demolished you in our @PiersMorgan debate, exposing all of your filthy lies about Jews, which must’ve forced @YouTube to finally confront the dangerous incitement to violence against Jews that is your goal.”

West has admitted he was under the influence of alcohol while sending antisemitic tweets in 2022.The rapper faced intense backlash after writing on X that he was going “death con 3 on Jewish people.” West’s account was temporarily locked as a result and the tweet was deleted by the platform.

“I was drinking when I put up the DEFCON tweet,” West said in the interview with Owens from 2022. DEFCON is an acronym that refers to the state of alert of America’s militaries.

The rapper apologized to the Jewish community last year for the string of antisemitic remarks he made in the posts, which led to him being dropped by Adidas. West is currently facing a series of lawsuits linked to his antisemitic behavior.

Other guests who have appeared on Owens’s show include Andrew Tate, who is currently facing charges in Romania of human trafficking, forming an organized group to sexually exploit women, and rape. He denies the charges against him.

Owens has also hosted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.