Conservative political commentator Candace Owens was just denied a visa to enter New Zealand for a speaking engagement, weeks after she was refused a visa by Australia, according to immigration officials.
The Australian visa denial came after Owens made past remarks that minimized the Holocaust and made controversial claims about Islam and slavery, causing officials to object to those remarks.
Owens, who has built a substantial following on YouTube with over 3 million subscribers on the platform, had planned to speak in several Australian cities and Auckland, New Zealand, in February and March. Despite her visa issues, tickets for the tour remain on sale, and the promoter's website has not made statements on the exclusions from both countries.
New Zealand Immigration spokesperson Jock Gilray said that Owens' visa application was rejected because New Zealand law prohibits granting permits to individuals barred from entering other countries, The Associated Press reported on Thursday.
Newsweek has reached out to New Zealand Immigration to confirm the rejection via email.
Australia's rejection, however, was more explicit. Immigration Minister Tony Burke said in October that Owens "downplay[ed] the impact of the Holocaust" and claimed "Muslims started slavery." He also said that Owens "has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction" based on the aforementioned comments.
"Australia's national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else," Burke added.
Owens has created controversy in the past by making inflammatory remarks about Jews, Muslims, and transgender individuals. In July, she sparked backlash after saying that accounts of the Nazi medical experiments conducted on twins by Josef Mengele in concentration camps sound "completely absurd" and like "bizarre propaganda." This statement reportedly influenced Australia's decision to bar her from entering the country.
The Nazi doctor was known for performing cruel medical experiments on prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Owens announced her speaking tour in August, promising audiences discussions of free speech and her Christian faith. Owens nor her event's promoter, Rocksman, have commented publicly on the decision from New Zealand.
Newsweek has reached out to Owens for comment via an email sent from the website of Blexit, a grassroots conservative movement she co-founded.
Her speaking tour in Australia was scheduled to begin on November 17 in Melbourne, with tickets ranging from $95 for reserved seating to $1,500 for a VIP package that included a pre-event meal and a meet-and-greet with Owens. The tour also included stops in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.
"Join us for an electrifying evening with Candace Owens, the outspoken and fearless American conservative social commentator, author, activist, and YouTube sensation," a description of the show on ticketing website Ticketek reads. "Known for her controversial takes and unwavering stance, Candace is set to light up stages across Australia and New Zealand with her bold and unfiltered perspectives....this is your opportunity to experience firsthand the intellect and fearlessness that has captivated millions around the globe."
Meanwhile, Owens left The Daily Wire, a right-wing website, earlier this year amid reported tensions with editor emeritus Ben Shapiro over their opposing points of view on Israel's war in Gaza.
She has been increasingly critical of Israel, writing on X, formerly Twitter, last November that "no government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever. There is no justification for a genocide. I can't believe this even needs to be said or is even considered the least bit controversial to state." Israel has denied accusations of genocide.
The Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), a pro-Jewish group that pushed to bar Owens from Australia, welcomed Burke's decision to reject her visa application.
"This is a victory for truth, for decency, and for the millions of Jewish souls and millions of others whose memory she so shamelessly desecrated," the group's chairman Dvir Abramovich said in a statement provided to Newsweek in October. "The decision by the government to bar Owens sends a resounding message: Australia has no place for those who mock the suffering of genocide survivors and insult the memories of the 6 million Jews who perished. This is a line in the sand."
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says Owens has "come to espouse explicitly antisemitic, anti-Zionist and anti-Israel views," while LGBQT+ advocacy organization GLAAD has listed several occasions when she has expressed allegedly transphobic views on social media.
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