The Daily Wire has secretly obtained a gag order against its former employee Candace Owens following her public feud with Ben Shapiro, according to documents.
Last month, Owens challenged Daily Wire’s co-founder Ben Shapiro to a debate about Israel in the weeks after she left the outlet.
I would like to debate Ben Shapiro on Israel and the *current* definition of antisemitism.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 5, 2024
Can somebody make that happen? https://t.co/237rKKIkoD
Ben Shapiro responded to Candace Owens:
“Sure, Candace. I texted you on February 29th, offering this very thing.”
“Let’s do it on my show this Monday at 5pm at our studios in Nashville; 90 minutes, live-streamed.”
Sure, Candace. I texted you on February 29th offering this very thing.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 5, 2024
Let's do it on my show this Monday at 5pm at our studios in Nashville; 90 minutes, live-streamed. https://t.co/f4cRSJqz8L
According to reports, Candace Owens was out of the country when Shapiro agreed to debate her.
However, the debate never happened, but it wasn’t because Owens didn’t show up – she was gagged, according to Glenn Greenwald.
“But the debate was never going to happen,” Glenn Greenwald wrote.
“That is because the Daily Wire — in secret and unbeknownst to its readers — sought a gag order to be placed on Owens after she had called for a debate.”
“They did this under the cover of secrecy, before a private arbitrator, at exactly the same time that they were claiming in public that they wanted this debate and were even negotiating the terms with her.”
“When seeking a gag order to be imposed on Owens, the Daily Wire accused her of violating the non-disparagement clause of her agreement with the company. To substantiate this accusation, the company specifically cited Owens’ initial tweet requesting a debate with Shapiro as proof of this disparagement, along with concerns she voiced that Shapiro appeared to be violating the confidentiality agreement between them by publicly maligning Owens’s views to explain her departure from the company,” Greenwald said.
“While the company claimed before the arbitrator that it did not object in principle to a “healthy debate,” it urged the imposition of a gag order on Owens by claiming that the way she requested the debate constituted disparagement of Shapiro and the site.”
“To justify the gag order it wanted, the company also cited various criticisms of the Daily Wire and Shapiro on X that Owens had “liked.”
“This proceeding took place as part of an exchange of legal threats between the parties after the public agreement to debate about Israel was solidified,” Greenwald wrote.
The Daily Wire’s Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing told Glenn Greenwald that his report “is inaccurate to the point of being false.”
wens told Greenwald she couldn’t comment on his report:
“I wish I could comment on this but I can’t.”
Glenn Greenwald called for the Daily Wire to publish the documents of the gag order.
If the DW is spreading this, they should publish the documents, including the ones they filed to get the gag order.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 2, 2024
My article says that the basis for the gag order was statements she made while requesting the debate, as well as her defense against Andrew Klavan's accusations. pic.twitter.com/h3YXJfxag9
