Life is weird. You meet a person in history class and somehow time fast-forwards through a year and the two of you have become close friends who share precious moments of life. And then, in some cases, another year passes, and you wake up one day to the realization that you haven’t texted, called, or seen that friend in months. You grew and matured and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, someone who used to be a friend, mentor, or partner has become, as Gotye might say, somebody that you used to know. We’ve all been there, right?
It has long been my understanding that this was the general status of the relationship between Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens. The two undoubtedly used to be very close, both in public and in private, but seem to have drifted apart relationally and ideologically for several years leading up to Charlie’s murder. A friendship changing is nothing to write home about – it happens all the time – but what Candace has done since the assassination of Charlie Kirk does seem noteworthy.
It is my belief that Candace Owens has intentionally sought to use Charlie’s demise as an opportunity to click farm while hiding behind the guise of being his one true friend who is willing to just ask questions. That is an unfortunate thing for me to believe about someone like Candace, who I used to value and respect, but as I have already said – people change. If that introduction interested, annoyed, or angered you, I welcome you to read on – because I will be walking through many details surrounding Candace and I will be bringing receipts.
First, I want to establish my relationship to this situation. I am a former Candace Owens fan, someone who loves and values the work Charlie Kirk accomplished on earth, and a millennial Christian Conservative who has watched many hours of content from both creators through the years. That alone would interest me enough to write this piece, but my connection goes a little deeper than what I just described.
You see, I knew Charlie in a professional manner. He was nothing more than a casual acquaintance, but I worked alongside his organization and contributed to his events many times. He and I had a handful of backstage discussions in the VIP section of TPUSA events and after parties. I also am quite familiar with TPUSA as a group, since I worked with them multiple times through the years. I do not want to oversell my relationship with Charlie and TPUSA at all, but I do think it is fair to state that if you were to pick a random American off the street, I would know significantly more about Charlie and TPUSA than that person would.
I want to be clear that Charlie and I were not close friends in any sense of the word – I merely worked with his organization and chatted with him several times as a result. There are absolutely people who knew him better than I did, and as a matter of fact, at one point in her life I believe Candace Owens was among those people. That is my connection to this situation out in the open. All that being said, I do not think you, as a reader, will need to be a close friend or supporter of Charlie, Candace, or TPUSA to see the sad truth of this situation.
Alright, I promised receipts and citations, so let’s get into the details. Charlie Kirk founded TPUSA in 2012 and almost immediately he began appearing in TV spots, on radio shows and podcasts, and growing his organization. Five years later, after Charlie was already well established, Candace Owens joined TPUSA in 2017.
In the past few years, Candace has become increasingly distant from the TPUSA crowd. Those of us who are right of center tend to be justifiably open to the ‘conspiratorial’ idea that the government lies sometimes and is not always looking out for our best interests. However, Candace brought this trend to another level – one where twisted half-truths, general dishonesty, and sensationalism are prioritized over legitimate, fact-based, concerns. Her odd obsession with the Jews and Israel seems to drip with ungrounded bitterness and disdain in a manner similar to those on the left who can accurately be diagnosed with Trump Derangement System.
After separating from TPUSA, Candace built a following online by leaning into a truly strange niche. She was distanced from the Christian right after her conversion to Catholicism following her marriage to the enigmatic, non-American, millionaire, George Farmer. She was distanced from the religious and political alliance of Jews and Christians after he misinformation campaign against Israel, sporting multiple embarrassing instances such as one in which she either lied or was misinformed about the difference between Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter vs Muslim Quarters – demonstrating either her lack of knowledge surrounding a topic about which she claimed to hold passionate knowledge, or her willingness to lie in order to make a point.
She became a known hypocrite who shared double standards concerning the morality of her friend Ye (Kanye) and probably lied about the Frankist conspiracy, the sex-industry history of her friend Andrew Tate, and ongoing legal situations. During one of her rants about how Americans were about to go “die for Israel”, Candace also lied about multiple forms of Trump policy and encouraged military members to get dishonorably discharged to avoid a war that never happened. Truly, Candace has spiraled into a bad place. It’s always sad to see a person make bad choices, but when someone who used to legitimately offer some good thoughts to the world suffers a downfall, it is all the worse.
Following the murder of Charlie Kirk, Candace posted a tribute video which I found to be very odd, self-serving, and off-putting. In the video Candace repeatedly attempts to establish herself as having been a teacher, advisor, and guiding light to Charlie who largely shared in the credit for TPUSA’s success. She claims that when she and Charlie started working together in 2017, “Nobody knew who I was, nobody knew who Charlie was.” The problem is that people did know who he was – he got his start in 2012, rose to be fairly well known nationally by 2015, and Candace piggybacked off his success starting in 2017. Candace largely owes her access to people like Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager, who welcomed her into their circles when they were already more successful than she was.
In her memorial video, Candace shares several videos and photos of herself with Charlie. If you’ll notice, all the videos and photos she shares seem to show a significantly younger version of both Candace and Charlie… because the videos and photos are from almost a decade ago. By all accounts (other than Candace’s own account), the two drifted apart and did not spend nearly as much public or personal time together in recent years.
Candace claims that she is the person who convinced Charlie not to drink, saying, “My rule was like, we shouldn’t drink…and so we didn’t drink”. She also claims, “I was the culture, Charlie was the politics…Charlie needed to a little bit more culture.” In one of the more blatantly bizarre moments, Candace alleges that when an arrogant partner made demands of Charlie, Candace was the one who spoke to him as something of a mentor, saying, “You’re gonna have to learn to make the right decision, not the easy decision. This is only going to work if we keep making the right decisions…I could see the struggle within him.”
The examples of Candace elevating herself in her tribute to Charlie do not end there. In the last portion of her video Candace states that when Charlie was allegedly struggling with his support of Israel she told him, “You might not get it now, Charlie, but you will. I’m only a few years older than you but you’re gonna see this my way,” and also claims that towards the end of his life, Charlie was going through a “spiritual transformation” (more on that later) and was under a lot of pressure (implied from Israel). The entire video dedicated to Charlie just struck me as a set-up for exactly what came next – the leveraging of an opportunity to take Charlie’s death and use it to elevate herself.
No matter what we believe about the veracity of these stories of guidance shared from Candace to Charlie, they are odd to include in a dedication video. Let us be as charitable as possible and assume Candace was being entirely truthful – she drove Charlie to avoid alcohol so he could work more efficiently, she charged him to avoid toxic and arrogant people and do the right thing even when it was difficult, she guided Charlie through his time of struggling with support for Israel, and she helped build Charlie’s brand when he was unknown to the public.
Even if we willingly accept all those claims as gospel truth, are they not still odd things to include in a tribute video? I have advised, supported, and guided my family members many times, and I just don’t think I’d choose any of those stories to include in a tribute after losing one of them. Typically, tribute videos shine light on the person who has passed rather than serving to elevate the person who remains.
After posting her tribute video, Candace began to declare that Charlie was being pressured – primarily by Israel – and that, “They wanted him to lose everything” when directly speaking about Charlie’s alleged change of heart concerning Israel. To date, Candace has spent the past several years riling people up with rants virtually devoid of evidence or logic and has had a heightened ferocity in the past few weeks.
Candace has spent the past two weeks continuing her trend of energizing a base of anti-Israel activists to make random, unfounded, and empty claims as long as they make Israel and its supporters look bad. Many have rallied to support Candace’s work, sharing messages like that the world “needs [Candace] now more than ever”.
In her videos that have been posted after Charlie’s assassination, Candace claims that she knows there is a “federal coverup” afoot. According to Candace, in his last months of life, Charlie was “fighting for custody of himself” and was being financially pressured by the likes of Netanyahu. It must be noted that Candace never provided any proof of these claims.
When confronted with the fact that not only was she not invited to speak at Charlie’s memorial, but she also was not invited to any of the VIP seating, Candace asked, “What does this have to do with anything?” Perhaps I am alone in this, but I do find it relevant that a public person who was allegedly like family to Charlie was not invited to speak or attend. Maybe Candace was secretly extremely close with Charlie, or maybe everyone around Charlie knew that she was not particularly close with Charlie. Time will tell.
Candace proclaimed that she did not attend any of the memorials for Charlie, said she wouldn’t go to an event organized by feds, strongly implied that her safety would be at risk – potentially by the event organizers – and said she would go see Ye instead. Candace has quickly become the queen of vague claims and clickbait, sharing messages that her devoted followers swallow hook, line, and sinker such as, “We are winning” and “They are panicking” - What is being won? Who is ‘they’? No answers have been provided and yet, her fanbase insists that Candace is on the case! The good guys are winning the unknown battle – the proverbial ‘they’ are running scared! People keep biting off on vague claims, just like Candace wants.
I almost didn’t want to write this piece because it brings more attention, clicks, and money to Candace’s apparent cash-grab. But I think she needs to be called out and exposed. Who does Candace know was involved in Charlie’s murder? Why did ‘they’ do it? How does she know? We haven’t been told, but tune in tomorrow for more claims from anonymous sources! The story we are being sold is that Candace has damning evidence about the dark forces who attacked Charlie but she refuses to share the evidence in order to bring justice.
The truth is that Candace has danced around and insinuated the claim that Israel killed Charlie Kirk, but she is attempting to keep her rants just vague enough that she has an escape hatch and can declare victory no matter what. Candace claims the Mossad seemingly wanted to take over TPUSA and that Netanyahu was intentionally misrepresenting Charlie’s intent when he read a portion of the letter Charlie sent to Israel - but Candace offered no evidence of her claim. Why we should expect that Candace would know the full content and context of a letter between Charlie and an Israeli man who Candace hates is beyond me.
Over the past few days, Candace has claimed that Bill Ackman staged an ambush-style intervention, a claim which she offers no support for other than, as the kids say, ‘trust me bro’. Candace alleges that Charlie was roped into a weekend of high pressure leading to anger and frustration for many involved. In doing so, Candace has attempted to implicate an influencer who has openly distanced herself from the anti-Jew crowd, Aaryn Wexler.
People who were present for the meeting including Charlie Kirk’s team, his executive producer, and security, deny Candace’s claims about Ackman. Ackman himself addressed the claims in detail and brought receipts which show a friendly and open relationship between him and Charlie after the alleged ambush meeting
Candace has continually hinted that the current law enforcement narrative is incorrect and Charlie was killed by unknown dark forces and has proclaimed that, “the truth will be revealed”.
When asked specifically about Candace Owens and antisemitism, Charlie boldly claimed that blaming the Jews for everything is “demonic” and said he was open to all debaters on the topic – including his friend Candace.
Even Dave Smith, anti-Israel commentator and friend to Candace Owens, has disowned the ‘Israel did it’ theory pushed by people liked Candace and her co-host Ian Carroll, citing a clear lack of evidence.
According to Charlie’s friend and pastor, Charlie disagreed with Candace but did his best to maintain respect and friendship.
Brandon Tatum, a friend to both Charlie and Candace, rightly points out that nobody stood up to aid in Charlie’s alleged fight against Israeli donors while he was alive – it was only after Charlie was silent in death that Candace began leading the anti-Israel charge in his name. Brandon also contradicts the idea that Charlie hated Netanyahu or had turned on Israel, Contrary to what candace has claimed.
Even the openly racist Nick Fuentes has called out the obvious grift, empty claims, and alleged evidence which Candace has still not shared.
Podcast host Patrick Bet-David rightly points out that Candace seems to be doing good business, gaining clicks with intent, and perhaps is not genuine.
Frank Turek, who was known to be extremely close with Charlie and was invited to speak at his memorial, has taken an open stand against the unbiblical teaching of replacement theology while still acknowledging that Israel is certainly imperfect, as Charlie did.
As for Charlie, he called Netanyahu a “special, special leader” and said while we should prioritize America, we should also be involved internationally. On social media, Charlie has not retweeted Candace since 2021, Candace did not even follow Charlie on Instagram and only started following Erika Kirk a few days ago. Odd actions for someone who was like family to Charlie, right?
As for Erika Kirk, many have asked why she has not spoken out on this situation yet. I say we need to leave her alone. She is still adjusting to life after losing her best friend – she will need time to address and process all this. I suspect that in the future she will address these rumors and theories, and her word will be more significant than any other individual opinion on earth. But let’s remember that she is, first and foremost, a grieving individual who deserves love and respect – not pressure. Alex Clark has announced that she will be doing a podcast with Erika in the coming days, so more to come on that topic.
In her tribute video, Candace claimed that Charlie was going through a “spiritual transformation” and heavily hinted that not only was he changing his mind concerning Israel, but he was also well on the road to becoming a Catholic. Candace says that she recently told Charlie, "You are too smart to be a Protestant,” and claims Charlie was praying the Rosary, going to mass, and only needed to, “take the last step”. Several sources of Catholic propaganda have shared similar claims.
The truth is that there is no evidence I have seen that Charlie prayed the Rosary. He does seem to have occasionally attended a Catholic service with his wife, who was baptized Catholic. Erika also seems to have attended Evangelical Christian services with Charlie. Charlie Kirk was not becoming Catholic – he was a Christian who boasted in Christ alone and repeatedly identified as an Evangelical.
In an answer he gave moments before his death, Charlie stated that he was a Bible-believing Evangelical Christian. David Harris Jr rightly challenged Candace for pointing people away from the message Charlie actually preached – which was overtly not Catholicism, but Christ-centered Christianity. Several months ago, Charlie, in his good natured manner, casually dominated a friend and open Catholic, Michael Knowles. During a friendly debate, Knowles had no answers for Charlie’s astute challenges to Catholicism and was forced to resort to jokes and obfuscation.
Charlie refuted and disowned Catholicism blatantly and frequently. After considering my extensive public knowledge and my limited personal knowledge of Charlie, I can say that there is no reason to believe he was going through a Catholic/anti-Israel “spiritual transformation” – Charlie was spiritually transformed and continually being renewed by the Spirit of God which indwells all Christians.
Charlie (who Candace herself admits was very brand-conscious) seemingly took clear steps to intentionally distance himself from Candace both professionally and personally due to her increasingly unhinged beliefs. To my knowledge and in my research, Candace’s appearance at TPUSA events dropped significantly after the pair parted ways in May of 2019 and her last appearance at a TPUSA-sponsored event was The People's Convention in June of 2024. She was noticeably absent from massive TPUSA events in the past year, including SAS 2025.
TPUSA member Eric Bolling said Charlie and Candace had a “break up” after her views became too extreme and that they were not “tight” like they used to be. Andrew Kolvet, a TPUSA spokesperson, affirmed that Candace and Charlie remained friends, though he did not explain to what extent or in what capacity.
It is true that Charlie did tell Megyn Kelly that, while he was an open supporter of Israel, a cause of stress in his life was found in the fact that when he criticized Israel or welcomed opposing viewpoints, some people labeled him as anti-Semitic. Charlie did, indeed, tell Megyn Kelly that there was a specific segment of the pro-Israel crowd that attacked his “moral character” because he did not write a blank check endorsement of everything Israel did.
This is a known problem which Charlie and many on the right have acknowledged – Israel is not perfect, and we are allowed to say as much. That said, how we jump from this fact to “the Jews killed Charlie” is beyond me. Charlie openly challenged everyone – including Israel and Israeli interest groups – when he thought they were wrong. We should all do that.
Candace accurately points out that there appear to be holes in the Charlie Kirk investigation, ranging from the weird trans texts to the pedophile who seemed prepared to immediately act as a distraction. On that much, we can agree. But her overall approach and long list of ungrounded claims drive me to affirm the sentiment of Chicks on the Right when they say, “She’s out of her mind” and that her clickbait is “vulture behavior”.
Candace’s so-called “receipts” that have been shared were texts sent to Seth Dillon which he allegedly did not answer, while Charlie’s producers and TPUSA team members have unanimously spoken out in disagreement with Candace’s narrative. Additionally, Candace laughably claimed that sharing personal texts was not something she normally does… even though it is absolutely something she normally does. These consistent lies and misrepresentations unavoidably point us in a bad direction when it comes to our view of Candace Owens.
Another somewhat strange but noteworthy detail is that a Christian influencer who claims to share prophetic words from God and accurately predicted Charlie Kirks assassination in a fairly detailed manner has shared that, in his opinion, God has revealed that Candace is slipping into delusion, is actively running from God, and is teaching lies about Israel. Whether through the Holy Spirit or intuition, I believe this content creator (who I have not known to share anything unbiblical after reviewing a few of his videos) is correct.
We have a very good idea of who killed Charlie Kirk – it was a young man from one of the many extremist groups which Charlie spoke out against. Whether or not the young, homosexual, ANTIFA-minded, leftwing extremist had any help will hopefully be defined in the near future.
As far as Candace goes, I can only think of three scenarios which can be true concerning her handling of this situation – and two of them are bad.
Scenario 1: She has evidence about her friend’s death and is slow-rolling release of the evidence for clicks.
Scenario 2: As with previous cases, she has no real evidence and is click farming, using the gripping nature of the situation.
Scenario 3: She has damning evidence and for some dark and nefarious reason which Candace herself has not mentioned, she needs to slow-roll the release of evidence and speak in vague generalities.
Given her history, I just can’t bring myself to have any faith that Scenario 3 is reality.
