Speaking on a February 16 episode of her Daily Wire podcast, right-wing commentator Candace Owens said she would beat her hypothetical grandkids with a cane if they came out to her as transgender.
Owens discussed the "funny" story of a transgender teen named Mike who was rejected by his grandmother. Owens further dehumanized Mike by using she/her pronouns, assuming the teen’s gender assigned at birth is female.
Owens gloated that Mike "cries because she’s told her grandma that she’s transitioning and that she wants her grandmother to start calling her ‘Michael,' adding that Mike's "sweet little grandma said that she’s not gonna do that.”
She proceeded to call Mike "mentally ill" and said that “there’s no rejection here” because the grandmother, in a letter to her grandchild, said she is “spending time with Jesus in adoration” because of her “concern” for Mike's soul.
A smiling Owens then praised the grandmother and explained what she would do if her own grandchildren came out as transgender:
“You’re the best grandma ever, by the way. Because when I’m grandma, I get any foolishness like that, I don’t know."
"I wanna be a sweet grandma, I really do, I wanna be a sweet old lady, but I feel like I may be the kind to hit somebody with a cane, I don’t know, I’d be like ‘Hey you want me to call you Michael?’ P-shew. That would probably be me.”
You can hear what Owens said in the video below.
\u201cCandace Owens says she would beat her trans grandchild with a cane\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
Owens' remarks sparked immediate outrage online.
\u201c@JasonSCampbell There\u2019s no hate quite like Christian love.\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell She didn\u2019t need to say it out loud. We already knew.\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell This is just pure evil masquerading as commentary.\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell "we would still love you but only on our terms" is not love\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell She also said she was the victim of racial bullying when in high school. She sued the school district, used the NAACP to help her, took a $38K check (she was living in the projects with her grandmother) and now says there's no such thing as institutional racism, people can lift\u2026\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell She wakes up every day thinking \u201cHow can I be worse?\u201d\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell When love is conditional and comes with strings attached.\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
\u201c@JasonSCampbell imagine just casually admitting you would abuse your grandchild because they're not exactly who you want them to be. disgusting\u201d— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1676579918
Owens has a long history of making transphobic statements.
In 2017, Owens stated she was in favor of banning transgender individuals who are undergoing sex reassignment surgery from serving in the United States military, but said that she did not oppose fully transitioned transgender individuals serving in the military.
Last year, she falsely promoted the conspiracy theory that a mass shooter at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas could be transgender and baselessly said that he was "cross-dressing." Owens claimed this could be evidence the shooter "was mentally disturbed."
Also last year, she claimed a series of shootings in Memphis were spurred by the fight for transgender equality and "celebrating mental illness" by encouraging others to 'mutilate their bodies."
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