Candace Owens does not shy away from controversy, and her best friend Kanye West sure isn’t either. In a new interview on The Jason Lee Show, Owens pulled back the curtain on why she refused to waver in her support for the rap icon despite his increasingly erratic behavior and controversial commentary, which received increasing public condemnation.
“I will always love Ye,” began Owens with conviction. “I will always defend him because I think he did one of the bravest things in speaking about what happened to him, and the questions were never answered about what Harley Pasternak did to him that night.” Her words were not empty expressions of loyalty, as they had an ominous weight. Owens was alluding to the notorious incident in 2016 when Harley Pasternak, a celebrity trainer who has trained several A-listers, including West, sparked a war of words. That year, Ye was hospitalized for psychiatric observation after a string of similar, increasingly outlandish public appearances. That incident began a dark period in the artist’s life, one that Owens feels was manipulated behind closed doors.
The fitness and entertainment personality Pasternak, who contacted emergency services while on a workout with West, celebrity news website TMZ said, mentioned “unusual” behavior. However, Owens thinks there is more to the story than what was written. During her interview, she mentioned those supposed text messages Pasternak sent to West in 2022. Text messages Ye later made public. The messages, if they were genuine, appeared to be threats to the rapper to have him hospitalized and possibly administered drugs if he didn’t fall back in line.
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And this is why Owens refuses to abandon West. She thinks he is a whistleblower who dared to pin open a seamy corner of celebrity manipulation that many people are too scared to discuss. “Kanye was Kanye, then Harley Pasternak took him to his house and got an ambulance and had him drugged and admitted that in a text message,” she claimed. What makes Owens’s perspective even more chilling is that she doesn’t think this is a one-time event. She hinted at a broader conspiracy against outspoken stars, even including pop star Britney Spears as another possible calling card of mental manipulation and control. Although there’s no hard evidence, Owens’ insinuation portrayed a shadowy underworld where the handlers of stars have enormous and, apparently, unchecked power behind the scenes.
Her statements reflect a feeling held among some of Ye’s remaining fans, who feel he was shut down, not simply critiqued. For Owens, his public meltdown is less an issue of mental illness or a dramatic decline in personal behavior and more a matter of retribution for having dared to speak out. In recent years, West has become a lightning rod for controversy, from praising Hitler to attacking fellow artists and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. These moves have turned off even his most loyal followers. However, Owens insists that instead of writing off Ye, the public should ask more questions about what led him to this point and who stands to gain from his downfall.
As the interview wrapped up, Owens elaborated, “I have questions about what happened to Kanye.” Her voice was serious, her words measured. In that moment, it was also clear that this wasn’t about music, politics, or clout for her but about justice. Candace Owens doesn’t have all the answers but is not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. For Kanye West, that type of loyalty may well be the rarest and most dangerous form of support he has left.
