Conservative commentator Candace Owens, who was suspended from YouTube last month for hate speech against the LGBTQ community, had dished out some blunt advice to students at a university in upstate New York.
Speaking during the Turning Point USA Live Free Tour in Albany, a pregnant Owens addressed concerns that her very presence had made transgender students feel vulnerable.
During a Q&A session, a student asked Owens, ‘What do you have to say to the trans students on this campus who feel actively victimized by your presence here?’
Owens swiftly replied, ‘Life’s tough, get a helmet, man, I’m too pregnant for this.’
Some students in the audience cheered her response, while others seemed to react with silence and disbelief. Owens’ comment has also drawn praise on social media sites. Turning Point USA is a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses.
Owens appeared to be proud of her response, later sharing the video clip on exchange on social media.
‘I am over 8 months pregnant with two toddlers at home. If you are a 20-year-old adult who feels ‘actively victimized’ by my standing on stage to speak about social and economic conservatism, it is because your parents failed you, entirely. It is not my job to coddle adults,’ she wrote.
So far, the clip has received almost 12 million views.
Student: "As non-binary person, what do you have to tell me about my identity? Because I know for a fact I'm not confused."@RealCandaceO: "Great statement…You know your identity. You're not confused. Congratulations, sweetheart." pic.twitter.com/LgaKTAkEbZ
— Candace Owens Podcast (@CandaceOwensPod) October 6, 2023
In another clip of the question and answer session, a non-binary student confronts Owens over her beliefs that trans people are ‘confused’.
‘As non-binary person, what do you have to tell me about my identity? Because I know for a fact I’m not confused,’ the student asks.
Owens sidestepped the question and instead responded by patronizing her interrogator.
‘Okay! Next question. Great statement…You know your identity. You’re not confused. Congratulations, sweetheart. Thank you very much for your statement’, she responds, shaking her head.
In a third question posted online, a student brought up the issue of free speech.
‘How do you think free speech impacts everybody in the community?’ Owens was asked.
As ever, Owens was quick to respond.
‘I mean the idea that if somebody looks at a man and calls them a man and that they feel unsafe because they’ve created a false reality in their own head – I don’t abide by that.
‘The left is trying to make it seem that people who see reality for what it is are demented and are creating unsafe territory and that’s not the truth. What i think is unsafe is for people to be affirmed in their delusions. Go live your life as you want to live your life.
‘When I have to pretend that I see a woman when clearly you are a man, I shouldn’t have to play that game,’ Owen stated to applause.Supporters of Owens praised her candied responses with a desire to see more.
‘Seriously? When did people become so weak and emotional? Our ancestors hunted for food and sometimes starved for days until they caught prey again, in contrast to modern humans who feel victimized by another person’s presence on a campus,’ wrote one Twitter user.
‘Candace is always a delight to listen to, even if it’s just for 25 seconds,’ wrote another.
The post also attracted negative feedback, with one social media user siding with the student who asked the question, suggesting Owens should improve her public speaking approach.
Another criticized Owens describing her as a ‘shill who will say anything for money.’
Last month, Owens was issued a strike by YouTube for violating the site’s ‘hate speech’ policies.
A YouTube spokesperson said: ‘We issued a strike to the Candace Owens Podcast channel for violating our hate speech policy, which prohibits content promoting hatred against protected individuals or groups, including the LGBTQ+ community.’
Three strikes against a YouTube account within 90-days can lead to its termination.
Previous content presented by Owens included accusations that anyone who shopped at Target was ‘gay’ and a ‘pervert’. She has also claimed ‘transgenderism is a cancer and we should fight it.’
YouTube’s hate speech policy states content that ‘repeatedly targets, insults, and abuses a group based on protected group status across multiple uploads’ may lead to penalties.
Owens’ YouTube channel has more than 2 million followers and worth an estimated $1.1 million per year, appears to still be monetized with advertiser content.
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