Candace Owens was denied a visa to enter New Zealand for a speaking engagement, which follows her prior ban from Australia.
Australia’s immigration minister, Tony Burke, said she had the “capacity to incite discord.”
Candace Owens now also banned from New Zealand.
The article cited her questioning WW2 experiments as the reason. pic.twitter.com/Jm3EPDE4iJ
— An0maly (@LegendaryEnergy) November 29, 2024
From the Associated Press:
News of the ruling came weeks after neighboring Australia also rejected her visa request, citing remarks in which she denied Nazi medical experimentation on Jews in concentration camps during World War II.
Owens is scheduled to speak at a series of events in several Australian cities and in Auckland, New Zealand, in February and March next year. Tickets remain on sale and there is no acknowledgement on the promoter’s website that she has been refused entry to both countries.
The commentator, who has more than 3 million followers on YouTube, is accused by her detractors of promoting conspiracy theories and antisemitism and has ignited firestorms with her remarks opposing Black Lives Matter, feminism, vaccines and immigration.
In March, Owens said she had parted ways with the Daily Wire, on which she had hosted an online talk show since 2021, after clashes with its founders over her remarks about Jews and her opposition to U.S. military support for Israel. She was widely criticized for comments in a YouTube video in July that minimized the Holocaust.
Owens had promised Australian and New Zealand audiences a discussion of free speech and her Christian faith when she announced the speaking tour in August.
On behalf of New Zealand 🇳🇿 we apologise for the control freaks at our immigration department who think that ideas are ‘violence’.
Whether you’re right or wrong, normal kiwis would welcome you here & make your visit a pleasant one @RealCandaceO https://t.co/icScnyPG6e
— 𝓑𝓸𝓫 𝓜𝓬𝓒𝓸𝓼𝓴𝓻𝓲𝓮 🇳🇿 (@bobmccoskrienz) November 27, 2024
Conservative influencer Candace Owens gets barred from New Zealand weeks after a ban from Australia https://t.co/YiWuhv4D2Z pic.twitter.com/x4od0HZyYf
— New York Post (@nypost) November 28, 2024
Per Forbes:
The New Zealand Herald reported her visa to Australia was cancelled last minute before her shows there, with Australia’s Immigration Minister Tony Burke citing comments by Owens that “downplay[ed] the impact of the Holocaust” and claimed “ Muslims started slavery.”
After the Australia ban, Owens said “people don’t want me to get in front of an audience” and blamed the “Zionist media empire.”
Owens announced she was going to Australia and New Zealand in November for a speaking tour back in August, though her website now only lists dates in February and March 2025 and does not mention her visa problems.
The show is marketed as one that “will appeal to audiences seeking alternative viewpoints and in-depth discussions on pressing political and social topics.
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