In a dramatic escalation of a long-running public dispute, conservative commentator Candace Owens has launched fresh accusations against her former employer, The Daily Wire, and its co-founder Ben Shapiro. Owens claims the media outlet is deliberately using archival footage from her tenure to launch public attacks against her, turning a professional separation into a persistent personal conflict.
New Allegations Surface on Social Media and Podcast
On January 8, 2026, Owens took to the social media platform X to voice her grievances. She asserted that The Daily Wire was utilizing clips from her old podcast, which she acknowledges Ben Shapiro legally owns, in a "hostile" manner. "This is real life. The Daily Wire is using my old podcast to attack me," she wrote to her followers. Owens explained that the repurposed clips show her defending herself from what she describes as repeated attacks from the company over the past two years.
This social media post followed closely on the heels of a detailed discussion on her own podcast. In the January 6, 2026 episode, Owens provided new specifics, alleging a pattern of deliberate action by her former workplace. She revealed that listeners had informed her that her defunct Daily Wire YouTube channel had been reactivated after a long period of being private. A trailer from 2021 was also reportedly re-uploaded.
Similar activity was noted on Instagram, where an old promotional video from her early days at the company was reposted. Owens was emphatic that these were not accidental occurrences but calculated moves. "I truly am not trying to be dramatic here. It felt like a crazy ex-stalker. Like if I cannot have you, nobody can have you," she described, framing the situation in intensely personal terms.
A Feud That Refuses to Die
The roots of this conflict trace back to March 2024, when Candace Owens was officially fired from The Daily Wire. The termination culminated months of public tension, primarily stemming from comments Owens made about Israel following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Ben Shapiro had publicly labeled those remarks "absolutely disgraceful." Owens joined the company in 2021 and quickly rose to become one of its most prominent hosts.
Nearly two years after her dismissal, Owens expressed frustration that a clean break has not been achieved. She expected both parties to move on, but instead, she alleges a campaign of continued surveillance and interference. On her podcast, she claimed The Daily Wire has monitored her career, attempted to influence her speaking engagements, and applied pressure behind the scenes.
Owens also suggested a possible motive, hinting that the resurfaced old clips might be connected to a new show she believes is designed to mock her, though she did not provide independent evidence for this claim. As of now, The Daily Wire has not issued a public response to Owens's January 8 allegations.
Life After The Daily Wire: A Surge in Popularity
Ironically, the fallout from her firing appears to have amplified Owens's reach. She has stated that the dismissal brought her more attention than ever before. This claim is supported by reports from November 2025, which indicated that her independent podcast had climbed to become the number one show globally, demonstrating her significant influence outside the structure of The Daily Wire.
The ongoing public spat highlights the complex and often messy divorces that can occur between high-profile media personalities and the platforms that helped build their audience. It raises questions about content ownership, professional boundaries post-employment, and the long shadow cast by public disagreements in the digital age, where old content can be easily weaponized.
