Candace Owens sued for $20M in defamation lawsuit
Congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik says her fellow Black conservative made false statements about her in a June 22 video posted to social media
Conservative talking head Candace Owens has never been one to mince words and now that’s gotten her into some legal trouble.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the political commentator is being sued by Kimberly Klacik, another Black conservative, for defamation. Klacik, a former Republican congressional candidate, alleged that in June, Owens made false statements about her in an Instagram video which caused her to lose a book deal and led to several politicians backing out of her fundraising events.
As a result, she is now suing for a whopping $20M.
In the video in question, posted on June 22, Owens accused Klacik of being a stripper, claimed that her charity Potential Me is fraudulent and says Klacik is guilty of tax fraud, campaign fraud, and money laundering. At one point she even implied that Klacik is using drugs.
When the video was first posted, Klacik tweeted, “She has falsely accused me, private citizens & businesses of federal crimes so I would like this to play out in court rather [than] social media.”
“Baseless character assassination has no place in political dialogue‚” Klacik’s lawyer Jacob Frenkel told The Sun. “The defendant chose to use her huge social media platform to attack a respected Baltimore political figure; we are using the proper forum – the power of the courts – to respond. The detail in Ms. Klacik’s lawsuit speaks for itself.”
The lawsuit, filed in Baltimore, also claims that Klacik asked Owens to remove the 44-minute video on several occasions, but that Owens not only refused to comply but also “continues to support and encourage the harassment” of Klacik.
As theGrio previously reported, Klacik first made national headlines last August after her eye-catching campaign ad suggesting Democrats don’t care about Black voters went viral.
“Democrats don’t want you to see this. They’re scared that I’m exposing what life is like in Democrat-run cities,” the 38-year-old wrote in the caption for the ad, titled “Black Lives Don’t Matter to Democrats.”
“That’s why I’m running for Congress,” she continued. “Because All Black Lives Matter Baltimore Matters And Black people don’t have to vote Democrat Help us win.”
On the first night of the Republican National Convention, Klacik — who at the time was running to represent Maryland’s 7th Congressional district, represented for years by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings — slammed Joe Biden, at the time the Democratic presidential candidate, for essentially treating Black voters like sheep.
“Joe Biden believes we can’t think for ourselves — that the color of someone’s skin dictates their political views,” she opined. “We’re not buying the lies anymore — you and your party have ignored us for too long.”
“And yet, the Democrats still assume that Black people will vote for them, no matter how much they let us down and take us for granted,” she continued. “Nope. We’re sick of it and not going to take it anymore. The days of blindly supporting the Democrats are coming to an end.”
Owens has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
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