How have Candace Owens' views on LGBT rights evolved between 2018 and 2023?
Executive summary
Candace Owens moved from broadly conservative commentary in 2018 to increasingly aggressive, targeted rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people—especially transgender individuals—by 2023, drawing condemnations from advocacy groups and platform penalties such as a 2023 YouTube strike [1] [2]. Reporting from LGBTQ organizations catalogs platformed false claims (e.g., linking trans people to mass shootings, calling gender dysphoria a “mental disorder” and the LGBTQ movement a “sexual plague”) and documents repeated transphobic and anti-LGBTQ statements through 2023 [3] [4].
1. From general conservative positioning to a targeted anti‑LGBTQ focus
Candace Owens began public prominence around 2018 as a promoter of Black conservatism and the Blexit campaign, but reporting says her commentary “became increasingly right‑wing” and she “regularly attacked” the LGBTQ+ community as part of that shift [1]. Early coverage framed Owens as a conservative influencer; later reporting by LGBTQ advocacy groups and outlets documents a narrowing of focus toward sustained attacks on transgender rights and broader LGBTQ issues [1] [3].
2. Specific claims and themes Owens advanced by 2022–2023
By 2022–2023 Owens promoted a string of claims that advocacy groups call false or misleading: she asserted gender dysphoria is a mental disorder, described the LGBTQ movement as a “sexual plague,” and associated transgender people with violent incidents—claims critics and fact‑checkers dispute [4] [3]. She also warned against what she called “social engineering” aimed at making men “effeminate” and encouraging changes in gender and sexual norms [5] [6].
3. Reactions from advocacy groups and the media
GLAAD’s Accountability Project flagged Owens for spreading transphobic misinformation and for framing support for trans people as “erasing” womanhood; GLAAD explicitly calls some of her claims false [3]. The Anti‑Defamation League’s profile says Owens “regularly attacked” the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender individuals, as part of her hardening political stance [1]. LGBTQ outlets and regional papers also cataloged controversies and condemnations [7] [8].
4. Platform enforcement and consequences by 2023
YouTube issued a strike to the Candace Owens Podcast channel in September 2023 for violating its hate speech policy, a concrete platform response to the content complaints and a marker of escalation from commentary to enforcement [2]. Coverage of the strike cites YouTube’s statement that it prohibits content promoting hatred against protected groups, including LGBTQ+ people [2].
5. Public incidents that illustrate the evolution
Reporting links Owens’s rhetoric to particular incidents that drew attention: after school shootings in 2022–2023 she pushed unsubstantiated claims tying shooters to transgender identities, and she criticized drag events and parental support for trans youth—positions that provoked strong public pushback and social media outrage [3] [9] [4]. These examples show a pattern of increasingly confrontational commentary between 2018 and 2023 [1] [3].
6. How advocates and critics frame her motives and impact
Advocacy outlets portray Owens’s statements as part of a deliberate campaign that spreads misinformation and harms LGBTQ+ people; they emphasize the tangible risk such rhetoric poses to vulnerable communities [3] [8]. Mainstream and conservative outlets have framed some enforcement actions as censorship of conservative voices, a competing viewpoint about platform moderation not fully detailed in these sources [2].
7. Limitations in the available reporting
Available sources document her rhetoric and platform responses up to and through September 2023 but do not provide a comprehensive chronology of every statement from 2018 onward; they summarize trends and highlight notable incidents rather than catalog every comment [1] [3] [2]. Sources differ in tone: advocacy organizations characterize claims as false or harmful, while some news pieces emphasize controversy and free‑speech debates [3] [2].
8. Bottom line for readers
Between 2018 and 2023 Candace Owens moved from mainstream conservative activism into a visible, repeat pattern of anti‑LGBTQ and specifically anti‑trans rhetoric that advocacy groups label misinformation and that culminated in platform enforcement such as YouTube’s 2023 strike [1] [3] [2]. Readers should weigh advocacy organizations’ fact‑based rebuttals (GLAAD, ADL) alongside reporting of platform actions to understand both the content of Owens’s claims and the institutional responses they triggered [3] [2].