Brooklyn Venue Cancels Rental Contract for Candace Owens’ Blexit Event

Music Hall of Williamsburg, a popular venue in Brooklyn, has canceled a rental contract with Candace Owens’ group Blexit, which was set to host an event there this weekend.

Owens — the controversial far-right commentator known for her close ties to Kanye West and “documentary” The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM — founded the Blexit Foundation in 2018 in an effort to encourage Black voters to leave the Democratic Party. Earlier this year, Blexit merged with Turning Points USA, Charlie Kirk’s non-profit, which, as Rolling Stone recently reported, has pivoted hard to Christian nationalism and also partnered with registered sex offenders.

Though the histories and convictions of Owens, Kirk, Blexit, and TPUSA are well-documented, Music Hall of Williamsburg said in a statement that the organizers of the Blexit event “presented themselves as ‘a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of urban and minority communities’ when they requested to rent the venue.”

The statement continued: “It has become abundantly clear to us that in actuality this organization provides a platform for hate speech and homophobia, which The Bowery Presents will not tolerate, and we have canceled their rental contract. This event will not take place in our venue.”

A rep for the Blexit Foundation did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.

On its event page, the “Blexit Live Liberation Show” is described as “an art pop exploration into Black America’s journey through history told in three parts — Liberation, Wilderness, and Promised Land.” Both Owens and Kirk were scheduled to speak, as well as Pastor John Amanchukwu and North Korean defector Yeonmi Park, both of whom have been using their platforms lately to go after the “woke mind virus.” The other three speakers listed were Brandon Tatum, Stephen Davis, and Pierre Wilson.

Because the Blexit Foundation had rented out Music Hall of Williamsburg, the event was not listed on the venue’s official calendar. Still, word of the event spread on social media, leading to both angry comments and a concerted campaign to pressure the venue, and its parent company Bowery Presents, to call off the event.

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