Ben Shapiro criticizes Candace Owens over Kirk shooting claims

A public feud between conservative commentators Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens escalated sharply this week, with Shapiro issuing a blunt condemnation of Owens for promoting what he called conspiratorial poison about the 2025 assassination of Charlie Kirk. The conflict centers on Owens's interpretation of a recent remark by Shapiro about communication between their security teams in the minutes after Kirk was shot.

The dispute ignited on July 8 when Owens shared a clip from Shapiro's show in which he stated that his security team was on the phone with Kirk's security team, receiving updates while Kirk was being transported to the hospital after the September 2025 shooting. Owens described the remark as a confession and publicly questioned why such communication was occurring during a critical medical emergency. She suggested it indicated a betrayal within Kirk's security detail and implied Shapiro had inappropriate prior knowledge.

In a series of posts on the social media platform X, Owens pressed for details on the timeline, noting that public reports of the shooting began circulating around 12:32 p.m. local time in Utah. She directly addressed Andrew Kolvet, an executive with...