Megyn Kelly Questions Ben Shapiro on Critics Who Say Daily Wire Is Only Free Speech ‘Until It Comes to Israel’

Screenshot via Megyn Kelly YouTube

Ben Shapiro defended his Daily Wire media company and its commitment to “free speech” following the departure of host Candace Owens.

Owens was let go by Shapiro’s The Daily Wire after months of publicly feuding with Shapiro and accusations of anti-Semitism as she criticized Israel’s conduct in the Israel-Hamas war.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly for her SiriusXM show, Kelly argued the “right likes to eat its own” and she asked whether The Daily Wire supports “free speech.”

“It has now spawned into a debate about whether The Daily Wire is pro-free speech. The accusation is you are until it comes to Israel. How do you respond?” she asked.

Shapiro argued Daily Wire is a “publisher” and not a “platform.” He implied there was more than Israel at the center of his split with Owens.

“What I will say is we have a variety of positions on Israel right now inside the Daily Wire. Matt Walsh is obviously one of the number one hosts at the Daily Wire, and he and I wildly disagree on what America’s Israel policy should be. Matt is much more of an isolationist,” he said. “He basically believes the United States has no real interest in the Middle East and thus should not be providing material supporting to anyone, including the state of Israel. Matt obviously is well within the sort of group of hosts that we have here at the Daily Wire. So clearly whatever is going on is not about Israel specifically. That’s really all I have to say about it.”

The conservative pundit argued he would never be in favor of social media platforms like X or YouTube taking down Owens or anyone else.

“As far as the free speech of it, as I’ve said before, the Daily Wire is a publisher, not a platform. I would never call for anyone to be ousted from an actual platform, X, YouTube. Even people who I think are absolutely horrific human beings, I’ve never called for any of them. In fact, I’ve called for their accounts to be restored if they’ve been banned,” he said.

Kelly praised Daily Wire, but said she applauded the separation, predicting it would be a good move for both parties. She joked she likes to be “her own little island” in the business, eliciting laughter from her guest.

“I think Candace will do fine on her own. It wasn’t a good match, and I, for one, applaud the separation for a number of reasons,” she said.

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