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Candace Owens has hit out at Kim Kardashian in a series of Instagram posts, accusing the reality TV star's family of "planting stories" about her.
The conservative commentator has publicly criticized Kardashian in the past, recently calling her a "prostitute" over her and Ray J's sex tape, which was released commercially under the title Kim Kardashian, Superstar in 2007.
On Thursday, Owens voiced her objection to an article that appeared on TMZ's website earlier that day, which alleged that the Candace host has been acting as a "chief advisor" in the "day-to-day life" of Kardashian's ex-husband Kanye West.
It was claimed in the article that Owens and West had planned for weeks to wear "White Lives Matter" T-shirts at the musician and designer's Yeezy brand show at Paris Fashion Week recently. It was also alleged that Owens had started setting up appearances on behalf of West, who has legally changed his name to Ye.
In a string of Instagram Story posts, Owens stated that the TMZ report was erroneous, while she also threatened to make Kardashian the focus of an exposé akin to her new Black Lives Matter Documentary, The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM.
"The Kardashians need to stop planting these ridiculous stories about me in @TMZ_TV," Owens wrote. "I am honest to God not the one you want to step to.
"I am not Hollywood. I do not play these games. I took on Black Lives Matter and you do not want me to turn my attention to you, @KimKardashian."
She went on: "I have never once persuaded Ye to do anything ever—and I respect you as a mother and I hope your family gets back together. In fact I will pray for it. Your kids are beautiful and I above anyone else know how family can be difficult.
"Any time I have met you, you have been anything but kind but I have seen up close how your media machine works. Please do not insert my friendship with Ye into the narrative. I promise you, I am not the one.
"Call your boy Harvey [Levin, TMZ founder] and tell him to pull the dogs off or to respectfully reach out next time the 'sources say' anything else that is completely made up," she continued. "Don't make me have to do The Greatest Lie Ever Sold Part 2: Kardashian Kartel.
"@TMZ_TV You are absolute trash for running that made up article, while ignoring the bigger story which is that Ye spoke to [reporters] last night about tweets and clarified his thoughts. Or that I exposed the BLM narrative which you guys so heavily pushed."
Owens then went on to explain the parts of the story she objected to, writing: "For those of you that want to know what I am talking about, a story was shopped around just ahead of my premiere claiming that I am working as an official advisor to Ye, taking his money, and influencing his decisions.
"It also suggested that I plotted the 'White Lives Matter' T-shirt weeks ahead of the show. Every single one of the above points is a complete and utter lie meant to change public perception of me."
Hours after TMZ published the story, an update was added to include a statement from Owens, who said in part that "patently false is the idea that I am working for Ye as an advisor or that I have made any calls on his behalf. If it isn't yet clear, Ye has never had any problem speaking out."
"The purpose of lies is to control," the TV personality went in her series of Instagram Story posts. "It is a means to make it seem as though I am taking advantage of a 'mentally ill' person and trying to line my own."
Likening the story to West's recent antisemitic comments, Owens questioned why such a story about her as a Black woman wouldn't be deemed racist.
"If that narrative was implied about a Jewish person, it would be antisemitic, so why is that implication toward a Black person not racist by the media's standards?" Owens said. "Why isn't [it] a 'racist trope' for them to suggest that I am stealing from Ye?
"If it is an old racist trope to suggest that a Jewish person is controlling of trying to steal money then please keep the same energy when @TMZ_TV comes out and suggests that I'm some poor Black b**** that needs to steal, and not a successful businesswoman that operates two separate businesses, hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the world, and just dropped a full length documentary."
"I came from nothing," she said. "I did not have a Hollywood father for a dad or parents that could afford to put me through school. I didn't drop a sex tape to enter the cultural conversation.
"You will respect me. You can disagree with me. You don't have to like me. But you will respect me.
"I am not some groupie or some Instagram thot that will tolerate your 'sources say' bulls***," Owens concluded. "You can pick up the phone and call me directly if you have any questions, @KimKardashian.
"As I said, I respect you as a good mother to those beautiful children. So respect me enough to know I would never 'influence' someone to do anything that goes against their own family."
Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Kardashian and TMZ for comment.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more