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Home » Candace #Ep 298: with Bassem Youssef (Transcript)

Candace #Ep 298: with Bassem Youssef (Transcript)

Editor’s Notes: In this episode of Candace, host Candace Owens sits down with comedian Bassem Youssef for a wide-ranging and provocative conversation about their shared experiences in the media spotlight. The two discuss the controversies surrounding their recent career moves, including Candace’s departure from the Daily Wire and Bassem’s viral interviews regarding the conflict in Gaza. Together, they critique the current state of political discourse, the influence of Zionism in media, and the personal consequences of challenging mainstream narratives. (Jan 29, 2026)

TRANSCRIPT:

The Anti-Semite of the Year Award

CANDACE OWENS: All right, you guys, I’m so excited about this episode. I am sitting across from somebody who I should mention is extremely jealous of me. And I’ll let you listen to what he had to say to me in his own words at his recent show.

VIDEO CLIP:

BASSEM YOUSSEF: And I was even nominated to be anti-Semite of the year 2024. But I didn’t get it. I didn’t win. You know who won last year Anti-Semite of the Year? Candace Owens. Yes. Candace Owens. Yeah. Some liberal woke—you had to give it to a black woman. Yeah. But this year. No. Who got the anti-Semite of the year this year? Yeah. Tucker Carlson. Yeah. White power, Josh. Yeah, baby. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, baby. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. The planet is healing.

And actually, one of the nominees for the anti-Semite of the year this year was — the new administration having one thing in common, and that thing is anti-Semitism.

VIDEO CLIP ENDS:

CANDACE OWENS: The world has gone a little bit ridiculous. I do have to say that’s one of my favorite accounts, because I feel like it’s Forbes 30 under 30. Every time they mention anybody there, I’m like, oh, I should be following this person. Yeah, they’re—what is it? Stop Anti-Semitism. And it’s never anti-Semitism. The account is a parody of itself.

But I do want to say it wasn’t DEI. I think I just performed better in 2024 than you did.

BASSEM YOUSSEF: I’m just jealous.

CANDACE OWENS: Yeah, you’re jealous.

BASSEM YOUSSEF: I’m bringing my jealousy to the show. I’m bringing my jealousy to Nashville. And I’m just very upset that I didn’t win. That would be like the award that I would have really deserved.

The Daily Wire and the Gaza Awakening

CANDACE OWENS: I know. And you tried to get all of your people to vote for you. You tried to skip the system. I didn’t even ask you to vote for me. I won it fair and square, in large part thanks to the fact that I was fired from Daily Wire that year.

BASSEM YOUSSEF: Yeah.

CANDACE OWENS: And you had a little something to do with it.

BASSEM YOUSSEF: Did I?

CANDACE OWENS: You did. Actually, this is a story that I’ve never told. Okay. But I—or I think you had something to do with it. But I was not allowed after I had watched you—and we should show that clip in a little bit. But you were my wake-up call to what was happening in Gaza.

So I watched you. The clip went crazy viral. You were with Piers Morgan. And this is why comedians are the best, because you were not fighting. You were agreeing with him. It was dark humor. And you held up a chart and asked what the going exchange rate was for Palestinians. You were like, “I agree with Ben Shapiro. No, I agree. No, obviously, we got to kill these sons of bitches. And here’s what we did this year and this year. And this is how many of them had to die.”

And seeing that chart and going, “Wait a second. What is going on? Why are this many Palestinians dying?” woke me up to the fact that there was a huge part of the conversation I wasn’t aware of.

And so I went to my producer and I said, “We should get this guy on. He’s going viral. I don’t know who he is, but I really would like to just hear the other side.” And my producer ran it up the chain and came back to me and said, “We are not allowed to have Bassem Youssef on.”

And I said, “That’s weird. Why?” And the answer I got was, “Because you hurt Ben’s feelings.” I’m not kidding. She got it in writing.

Ben Shapiro: The Confident Liar

BASSEM YOUSSEF: I hurt Ben’s—I’m—Ben, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Ben. I hurt your—did I hurt your feeling? I’m so sorry. I’ve hurt your feeling.

Here’s the thing about Ben. I’m going to say this in all honesty. I think Ben Shapiro is a very, very, very talented individual because he’s a very confident liar. He just lies very easily, and he lies so good that I feel ashamed that I can’t believe him.

And the thing is, he’s a fast talker. Right. You know why he’s a fast talker? Because facts cannot catch up. He just—

CANDACE OWENS: They never catch up.

BASSEM YOUSSEF: He just—he talks. You know how fast he talks. He’s like a robotic frog. And actually, if you hear Shapiro, it’s like someone actually sped up the voice. Actually, if you slow him down, you’ll get a normal voice, because as he speaks very quickly, the truth is still buffering. Yeah.

And actually, I’m very surprised that I hurt Ben’s feeling, because Ben says the facts don’t care about your feeling.

CANDACE OWENS: Yeah, well, but—

BASSEM YOUSSEF: But with Ben, they don’t care about the truth either.

CANDACE OWENS: Yeah. And so that’s one of the things—he never actually debates adults. And so it was a time where I genuinely wanted to learn more because I was astonished by what the chart that you had showed. And I was going, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’ve been to Israel. I’ve been in the orbits. How did I just miss this entire thing? And surely there must be something else. And once I host a debate or have a different discussion, then I will see the Israeli way and be able to better defend my positions.”

And then I very quickly learned that you’re not allowed to go down that path.