Candace Owens Relishes In Her Former Boss' Struggles: 'That's Not A Company. That's A Cult' - AOL
Right-wing podcaster Candace Owens is relishing in the reported financial downfall of her former employer, The Daily Wire, bashing the conservative media company and its co-founder Ben Shapiro.
“So, why is this happening? Well, because they’re unnecessarily awful to everyone,” Owens said on her show Wednesday. “I have never seen a person less capable of making friends, or at least not making enemies. You don’t need to be friends with everybody ... Ben Shapiro — it’s a bizarre talent he has.”
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Owens cited a Semafor article published this week that detailed some of her former employer’s recent financial hurdles.
The company, which once topped charts within conservative spaces with its “anti-woke” stances, has faced a series of staff changes in recent years, including multiple rounds of layoffs, and popular figures like Owens and Brett Cooper departing.
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Documents reviewed by the outlet revealed a decline in ad revenue since 2022.
“I love that it’s all happening the year that I left,” said Owens, who was fired following multiple clashes with Shapiro over Israel. “And you can see their subscriptions as well; a complete collapse has happened.”
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Semafor reported that Shapiro’s company hasn’t been able to increase the number of subscribers or retain paying members. Paid subscriptions made up about three-quarters of the company’s revenue and plummeted by a third in 2025 from the previous year.
Other financial problems are related to its fantasy scripted series, “The Pendragon Cycle,” according to the memo. The company reportedly spent $50 million to produce the series, but it ultimately did not resonate with audiences.
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The data from Semafor was included in its report that The Daily Wire is now in talks to take at least $100 million from an investment firm that would value the company at $750 million and give it an ambitious initial public offering. Owens maintained that the article was “obviously intentionally placed” to attract investors.
Owens, who herself has come under fire for spreading conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s death and baselessly claiming France’s first lady Brigitte Macron is transgender, blamed The Daily Wire’s internal culture for many of its woes.
Shapiro “thinks that people disagreeing with him is a declaration of war,” she said. “This is how the company is run from top to bottom. They hate you if you don’t agree with them.”
She continued, “That’s not a company, that’s a cult, and a cult cannot survive.”
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