Candace Owens Argues Conservatives Must Win Culture, Not Just Facts, Citing Kanye West and Mel Gibson
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Candace Owens Argues Conservatives Must Win Culture, Not Just Facts, Citing Kanye West and Mel Gibson
Candace Owens lays out a lesson she says she's learned over the years: conservatives keep losing not because their facts are wrong, but because they've ceded music, film, and culture to the left. She points to the backlash she faced for publicly embracing Kanye West's turn toward conservative-coded ideas, defending that decision by pointing to the eventual success of his gospel album Jesus Is King as proof the risk was worth taking. Owens holds up Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ as an example of a conservative-rooted project that broke through in a way she says hasn't been repeated since, while arguing that Hollywood and pop culture more broadly, from the biggest music stars to the biggest films, have spent years shaping how young people think. Her conclusion leans on a line from Andrew Breitbart: politics is downstream from culture, which is why she says she now focuses less on political argument and more on winning culture itself.
Candace Owens said the biggest lesson she's learned over the past two years is that feelings matter. When conservatives stop creating art, stop making music, and stop engaging with culture, she argued, conservatives lose.
Standing by Kanye West When Others Wouldn't
Owens recalled being mocked by people on her own side when she publicly embraced Kanye West's turn toward conservative-aligned views. She said she received a wave of phone calls warning her it would be a mistake, that West would flip, that he was unstable, and that this kind of cultural embrace simply wasn't what conservatives do. She said she ignored the criticism because she understood how far conservative principles could travel if they were expressed culturally and musically rather than only politically.
'Jesus Is King' and the Power of Cultural Wins
Owens pointed to West's gospel album, Jesus Is King, reaching the top of the charts as validation of that bet. She framed it as proof that culture, not just political argument, is where conservative ideas can break through in a lasting way.
The Passion of the Christ: A Win Hollywood Won't Repeat
Owens cited Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ as one of the greatest films ever made and a clear example of a conservative-rooted cultural win, then asked why nothing like it has broken through since. In her view, Hollywood has become dominated by liberal messaging, shaping young minds through music and the biggest names in entertainment, including artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
'Politics Is Downstream From Culture'
Owens said knowing the facts isn't enough on its own; those facts have to be converted into feelings to actually move people, something she said conservatives have done successfully in the past and won big when they did. She closed by invoking Andrew Breitbart's well-known line that politics is downstream from culture, explaining that it's why she says she's become more interested in culture than in politics itself.
