Owen Benjamin

Owen Smith (born May 24, 1980) known professionally as Owen Benjamin, is an American conspiracy theorist and internet personality known for promoting white supremacy, anti-Black racism, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. According to the Anti-Defamation League, he has endorsed Nazi policies concerning Jews and has denied the Holocaust, and his content is known for being antisemitic.

Benjamin was originally known as a stand-up comedian and actor. He had roles in mainstream film and television between 2008 and 2015. In the late 2010s, Benjamin began expressing more extreme political views. In 2019, he was banned from several mainstream social media platforms for violations of their policies, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. was born to John Kares Smith and Jean Troy-Smith, both professors at Oswego State University. He attended SUNY Plattsburgh, where he worked at the student-run TV station.

Career

Acting and stand-up comedy (2004–2018) Benjamin starred in several web-only video series, including in the role of Owen on C-SPOT's 2008 Gaytown and the role of Chance Stevens on CBS Interactive's 2009 Heckle U. He also hosted Owen Benjamin Presents, a 2008 C-SPOT production. In 2009, he played the lead role in the romantic comedy film All's Faire in Love, co-starring with Christina Ricci. and twice as a correspondent on The Jay Leno Show. Benjamin hosted the annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards from 2014 to 2016. He hosted Esquire Network's The Next Great Burger in 2015.

Towards the end of the decade, Benjamin had established himself as what conservative commentator Bethany Mandel described as an "up-and-coming conservative comedian", booking comedy shows at university campuses. In October 2017, Benjamin tweeted his opposition to providing children who claimed to be transgender with hormone therapy, criticizing NPR host Jesse Thorn for raising his 5-year-old child as transgender. He also was a guest on several shows by The Daily Wire, and podcasts including those of Joe Rogan and Steven Crowder. In October 2018, The Atlantic reported that Benjamin had a history of posting antisemitic memes on Instagram. In 2019, Right Wing Watch reported on Benjamin's statement that Adolf Hitler was trying to "clean Germany, clean it of the parasites, of the fleas", and his claims that Jews control the media. Right Wing Watch also reported on one of Benjamin's livestreams, where he said, "gays and Jews were considered the worst of the worst. Why? Because if they get power, they will destroy your entire civilization."

Right Wing Watch has reported that Benjamin believes in several other conspiracy theories, such as that the transgender rights movement is part of a eugenics program to reduce the world population, that the Moon landing did not occur, and that the existence of dinosaurs was fabricated by the Smithsonian. In November 2019, he spoke at the Flat Earth International Conference in Dallas, Texas. In July 2023, he claimed that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as test footage of the bombs, were faked.

Social media bans

Twitter banned Benjamin in 2018 after he made tweets about gun control advocate David Hogg. On December 13, he was suspended from Facebook and Instagram for multiple policy violations. He has also been banned by PayPal.

In January 2020, Benjamin and one hundred of his fans announced their intent to sue Patreon for $3.5million for banning him from the platform. Patreon counter-sued 72 of the fans. In July 2020, a judge on the San Francisco County Superior Court denied Patreon's request for a preliminary injunction in the case. After being banned from YouTube, Benjamin began streaming on DLive, a livestreaming service popular with extremists. In October 2020, Benjamin and Nick Fuentes were the two highest earners on the site.

Personal life In March 2008, he and Christina Ricci announced they were engaged, but they ended their engagement two months later. He later married and had children.

In 2021, after Benjamin began working on a project to create a compound on property he owns in Boundary County, Idaho, county residents filed a complaint with the county commissioners over allegations that he had violated zoning provisions while also expressing concerns that he was forming a "Ruby Ridge style" compound on the property.

Filmography Film 2008: The House Bunny 2009: 28 Drinks Later (short) 2009: All's Faire in Love 2011: Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star 2011: Jack and Jill 2015: Staten Island Summer 2015: Handjob Cabin (short) Television 2007: That's My Daughter (TV series) 2008–2009: Gaytown (TV series) 2010–2011: Pretend Time (TV series, 5 episodes) 2014: Six Guys One Car (TV series, 1 episode) 2014: The Soul Man (TV series, 1 episode) 2012–2014 : Sullivan & Son (TV series)