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New Zealand and Australia deny Candace Owens visa ahead of performance tour

Posted on by L. Dreeye
New Zealand and Australia deny Candace Owens visa ahead of performance tour

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New Zealand has rejected the visa application of conservative media personality Candace Owens.

Owens has a speaking tour planned to cities in New Zealand and Australia scheduled for February and March 2025.

In October, Australia’s Immigration Minister Tony Burke announced the country was scrapping the Owen visa because it was “capable of fueling discord in almost every direction,” multiple outlets reported, including the New Zealand Herald.

A New Zealand immigration spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY on Friday that Owens was denied an “Artist Work Visa” on Nov. 19, citing a rule that bars applicants from receiving a visa if “they have been excluded from another country.”

Owens addressed the situation on her podcast, saying she has “turned to a lawyer” and plans to appeal Australia’s decision, while accusing the country of denying her a visa before she applied.

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Owens was previously banned from entering Australia, YouTube

Owens is a far-right commentator who hosts a podcast and YouTube channel. She has a history of spreading anti-Semitic rhetoric, including Holocaust denial and revisionism.

Burke reportedly cited her rhetoric, ranging from “downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about (German SS officer Josef) Mengele to claims that Muslims started slavery,” as the reason for her denial.

Owens responded to the move in one of his YouTube videos in October, accusing him of lying and revealing the decision to the press.

“This is all to make a statement and try to portray me as a very scary person, like Adolf Hitler,” Owens said.

In September, Owens said she was suspended from YouTube’s affiliate program, which allows creators to earn money, after the Google subsidiary deemed some videos to violate advertising and community guidelines, according to emails she shared on social media.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge

Kinsey Crowley is a senior news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.