Candace Owens’ Latest Comments Ignite a Social Media Firestorm—Here’s What Happened

Conservative pundit Candace Owens has plunged into a fresh firestorm after alleging that Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has been “lying for years” about its finances and its late founder Charlie Kirk. In a 40-minute monologue on her “Candace” podcast, Owens claimed internal TPUSA documents show multimillion-dollar delays in federal tax filings and suggested that board members misrepresented how donor dollars were spent on campus activism. She also repeated an unverified theory that Kirk—shot outside an event in Phoenix last month—had warned allies he felt “tracked” in the days before his death, a remark critics say fuels conspiracy narratives already swirling online. Owens’s remarks immediately divided the conservative movement. Christian influencer Allie Beth Stuckey tweeted that Owens was “smearing patriotic young people for clicks,” while right-wing streamer Steven Crowder applauded her for “asking the questions corporate donors won’t.” #CandaceOwens and #TPUSA trended on X within hours, racking up more than 80 million impressions by Friday morning, according to social-analytics firm TrendMap. TPUSA issued a three-sentence rebuttal calling Owens’s claims “categorically false and potentially defamatory,” adding that the organization “is audited annually by an independent, non-partisan accounting firm and remains in full compliance with the IRS.” A TPUSA attorney told The Hill the group is “considering all legal remedies” if Owens does not retract specific allegations about impropriety. Legal friction is nothing new for the 36-year-old commentator. In September she was sued in France by President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron over a separate misinformation dispute. Stateside, Owens revealed on Wednesday that Alexis Wilkins—fiancée of Trump ally Kash Patel—has threatened to sue her for defamation after Owens hinted Wilkins “laundered” nonprofit money to help pay Patel’s legal fees. The widening feud arrives at a delicate moment for conservative student organizing. TPUSA is racing to finalize its winter “AmericaFest” conference in Phoenix, historically one of its largest fundraising weeks. Multiple campus chapter leaders told The Post Millennial they’ve been advised to avoid commenting publicly about Owens’s accusations until the national office “gets a handle on messaging.” Republican strategists worry the controversy could alienate small-ticket donors ahead of the 2026 midterms, when youth turnout may prove decisive. “Owens commands a loyal digital army; if she continues hammering TPUSA, it complicates grassroots coalition-building,” says GOP digital consultant Abigail Steele. “College conservatives don’t want to choose between the group that funds their events and the influencer who built their podcast playlists.” At the same time, the saga underscores the growing power of personality-driven media on the right. Owens’s critique first surfaced not on Fox News or a mainstream newspaper but on her independently hosted video feed, which averages 2.1 million views per episode. Media professor Sam Best from Arizona State University notes that “hyper-niche creators can now kneecap legacy institutions overnight, and those institutions have limited tools to fight back other than litigation.” What happens next? Owens says she will publish “full receipts” next week, including emails purportedly showing TPUSA executives warning staff to “burn anything linked to Egyptian donors”—a reference to Kirk’s recent Middle East outreach tour. TPUSA insists no such donors exist. Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk’s family has asked supporters to “stop politicizing Charlie’s death” and focus on the ongoing homicide investigation conducted by Phoenix police. Key dates to watch: • Monday, Nov. 24 – Expected release of TPUSA’s FY 2024 Form 990 filings. • Tuesday, Nov. 25 – Owens pledges to drop a “documentary-style exposé” on her YouTube channel. • Dec. 17-19 – TPUSA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, where Owens was once a star speaker but is not on this year’s lineup. For students and donors seeking clarity, legal experts recommend monitoring the official filings rather than viral video clips. “Tax forms will tell us far more than Twitter threads,” says nonprofit attorney Rachel Lim. Still, in the influencer-era political ecosystem, perception often outruns paperwork—and Candace Owens clearly understands the value of going viral.