New Zealand joins Australia in rejecting Candace Owens' visa ahead of speaking tour
New Zealand has denied a visa application from conservative media personality Candace Owens.
Owens had a speaking tour scheduled in cities in New Zealand and Australia booked for February and March of 2025.
In October, Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke announced the country was canceling Owen's Visa because she "has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” multiple outlets including the New Zealand Herald reported.
A spokesperson with Immigration New Zealand confirmed with Paste BN Friday that Owens' "Entertainers Work Visa" had been denied 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 "lawyered up" and plans to appeal Australia's decision, while accusing the country of denying her visa before she had applied.
Owens previously barred from Australia, YouTube
Owens is a far-right commentator with a podcast and YouTube channel. She has a history of spreading antisemitic rhetoric, including Holocaust denial and revisionism.
Burke reportedly mentioned her rhetoric from "downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about (German SS officer Josef) Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery," as a reason for her denial.
Owens responded to the move in one of her YouTube videos in October, accusing him of lying and leaking the decision to the press.
"All of this is to just make a statement to try to present me as some very scary person akin to Adolf Hitler," Owens said.
In September, Owens said she was suspended from the YouTube Partner Program which allows creators to make money, after the Google subsidiary deemed some videos in violation of ad-friendly and community guidelines, according to emails she shared on social media.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.