NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo has said that he believes the Daily Wire put a gag order on Candace Owens because they do not think Ben Shapiro could beat her in a debate on Israel and antisemitism.
Owens was fired from the company in March after consistently criticizing Israel's actions in its war on Gaza.
The following month, Owens publicly challenged Shapiro to a debate and Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing initially agreed to set it up. I don’t know your international travel schedule, Candace. I know when you’ve wanted to talk to someone in the past, you’ve flown across the world to make it happen.
You asked for a debate. Ben agreed to a debate.
You don’t want it on a DW channel? Fine. We can live-stream it… https://t.co/looi1lXYOV
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) April 6, 2024
However, earlier this month, journalist Glenn Greenwald revealed that the Daily Wire had not only backed out of the debate, but they placed a gag order on Owens.
Greenwald reported:When seeking a gag order to be imposed on Owens, the Daily Wire accused her of violating the non-disparagement clause of her agreement with the company. To substantiate this accusation, the company specifically cited Owens' initial tweet requesting a debate with Shapiro as proof of this disparagement, along with concerns she voiced that Shapiro appeared to be violating the confidentiality agreement between them by publicly maligning Owens's views to explain her departure from the company. While the company claimed before the arbitrator that it did not object in principle to a "healthy debate," it urged the imposition of a gag order on Owens by claiming that the way she requested the debate constituted disparagement of Shapiro and the site.
Appearing on Patrick Bet-David's podcast, Cuomo declared that this is the behavior of a company that believes their star will not win the debate.
"I’ll tell you what," Cuomo said. "I like the move. This is a very smart move by The Daily Wire. You got to remember, it’s not Ben Shapiro anymore. He made his decision. Organizations protect themselves, and when they have a contract with you, they will immediately do this. Now, Glenn, the truth is enough. Glenn doesn’t have to say they went in secret. Arbitration is what it is. You know what I mean? It’s in your contract. So it’s not like they’re sneaking around. So, you know, he doesn’t need that drama to it. But the reality is you’re saying one thing to me. But now you got your boys exercising a right on my contract, and you have to look at the reason why. Ok. The Daily Wire doesn’t believe that Shapiro wins the debate with Candace Owens."
"You think they believe that?" Bet-David asked.
"One hundred percent, otherwise there’s no reason to do it," Cuomo asserted. "If this is working for you, you let it go, right? Because the theory is, Vinny and Patrick get sideways, and you believe that you got sideways with him for good reason. You want people to know. Yeah. Good. Let Vinny talk about why we got sideways. Good. He’s. Everyone’s going to understand why we did what we did. That’s what Ben Shapiro has been saying. Everybody’s going to understand that Candace Owens has positions that are not just incorrect, but morally wrong in a way that Ben Shapiro says matters. He’s not just another corporate guy. It’s not just another company now, but in fact, it is just another company."
Cuomo added, "And the company decided we lose if he goes toe to toe with Candace Owens. So they shut her up, and they have the right to do it because of the contract."
